When nurses struggle to stay kind: how to regain your compassion

Communicating empathy doesn’t always come easily given pressures in healthcare, but every team member – and inclusive leaders – can create a culture of kindness

Kind, considerate and empathetic care is provided in our hospitals on a daily basis. Sadly, this isn’t always the case.

I am reminded of this when I recall a hospital encounter between an older couple and a care assistant. The couple, who appeared to be in their eighties, were sitting together when the refreshment trolley arrived. Both looked unwell but the woman had been admitted as a patient and her husband was visiting.

‘Punitive methods of dealing with staff behaviour focus on dealing with poor behaviour rather than encouraging positive behaviour, and lead to a lack of learning from incidents’