It is well documented in the research literature that healthcare staff find it difficult to seek help when they need it. In scoping previous pandemic models, including the timely learning from studies in China and Italy during their Covid surge, it was noted that staff did not tend to use the services made available to them. The potential for staff to develop acute distress and trauma and to experience significant mental health difficulties in the longer term because of their experiences in the pandemic. With all this in mind, Compassionate Connection model was devised. The model draws on compassion-informed approaches to deliver a caring and responsive staff support service to staff across the Trust.
This presentation outlines the ‘Compassionate Connection’ Model. It emphasizes the importance of personally engaging and connecting with staff by bringing the service to them to reduce the stigma and shame for healthcare staff of seeking help when they need it. Compassion involves the development of qualities of warmth and kindness; empathy and sympathy; care for wellbeing; wisdom, strength and courage as well as awareness of distress, the ability to tolerate it and act to reduce or alleviate it. Our need for support and connection and our ability to soothe ourselves are also central to the approach. The Compassionate Connection ethos is adopted by the team in their thinking, intentions, interactions and actions at all time in their work with all staff. They encourage staff at all levels, particularly managers, to adopt this approach in order to increase wellbeing and reduce emotional distress of team members. The presentation provides details of how Staff Support Team utilised the model in a hospital where patients with Covid19 were being cared for as well as activity and outcome of the interventions offered and what the team learned.
You can view the full presentation HERE