Blog

Spreading the ‘6Cs are for Everyone’ message

It is exciting to see the values of the 6Cs becoming further embedded across healthcare and it’s not just nurses but other clinicians and healthcare professions getting involved.

The event we held recently, The 6Cs are for Everyone, with the Clinical Leaders Network (CLN) brought together more than 350 people – from both clinical and non-clinical settings.

It is very encouraging to see others taking an interest by embracing the 6Cs to influence change and culture, showing the reach and the exciting potential of the 6Cs. Indeed, you’ll find examples of cases at the 6Cs Live! Communication Hub of where carers in the charity sector, including hospices and care homes are bringing the values to life.

The 6Cs continue to find new supporters and advocates as part of a new social movement and the adoption of the values outside of nursing, midwifery and health care assistants feels like a natural evolution, which is no surprise. People relate to the 6Cs because they are real and universal.

Whether a clinician or a non-clinician, we are all in the business of care, and compassion is central and fundamental to the care we deliver. People quite rightly expect care to be right for them, at every stage of their treatment. For example, the modern world of healthcare is seeing a growing use of multidisciplinary partnerships providing integrated care. Consequently, patients expect treatment to be delivered in a consistent way across the different people they have contact with in the team looking after them – from the receptionist to the clinician – and teams work better when based on the same values and behaviours.

The 6Cs are for everyone, they apply at every point in the chain of delivering healthcare services. Commissioners, for example, look at outcomes, costs and plans for the future, and are using the 6Cs as a model to plan, benchmark and review services.

So, I am encouraged by the growing number of examples of organisations embracing the 6Cs across practice areas and disciplines. A few examples are:

  • The Spire Gatwick Park Hospital set up a ‘strategy pioneer’ in each department, clinical and non-clinical, to ensure that the 6Cs are being translated into practice.
  • The 6Cs are a key feature of the East Kent Hospitals University Trust’s quality strategy. The Trust’s strategy is to embed its shared purposes, values and the 6Cs with their linked competencies into everyday working life for all staff, not only clinical nursing and midwifery staff.
  • 5 Boroughs Partnership in Warrington rolled out a ‘Culture of Care’ strategy across the hospital, based around the 6Cs.
  • North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust has a 6Cs Team which has been put in place to embed Compassion in Practice throughout the Trust ensuring that the values of the 6Cs are reflected and aspired to all day, every day by every member of staff.
  • The Hospital Caterers Association has looked at how the 6Cs apply to its members and has put them on the homepage of its website.

Join the conversation at the ‘6Cs are for everyone’ community and share examples of how people are implementing and evolving the 6Cs for everyone. It is great to learn about how people, like those I have mentioned, are bringing 6Cs to life in their workplace, and we want to hear your inspirational stories.

The Story of the Month competition, which we have been running for over a year has a new title – 6Cs in Action: Celebrating Success. The name might have changed, but the call-to-action remains the same and I would encourage individuals, teams and organisations to nominate examples to the judging panel.

The 6Cs are what you make them, and it is only thanks to the daily commitment of so many enthusiastic and energetic individuals that patients are benefiting from them.

  • You can keep in touch and join the conversation via Twitter by following @6Cslive.
Professor Juliet Beal

Juliet is the Director of Nursing: Quality Improvement and Care for NHS England. She is responsible for ensuring that care, compassion and patient experience are at the heart of nursing and midwifery in the healthcare system.

Juliet is responsible for the implementation of ‘Compassion in Practice’ the vision and strategy for nurses, midwives and care staff. Juliet provides clinical and professional leadership for mental health, midwifery, children’s health and leadership for the nursing and midwifery contribution to the five domains of the NHS outcomes framework.

She has over ten years Executive Director of Nursing experience in several acute trusts, and was the Cluster Director of Nursing at NHS Outer North East London. Juliet also has Acting Chief Executive, Director of Operations and Director of People and Organisation Development experience. Juliet was included in last year’s Health Service Journal top 100 clinical leaders.

Juliet’s particular areas of expertise and interest are quality improvement, patient safety and experience, clinical standards and outcomes, complex organisational change, sustainability, leading teams to provide excellent standards of care whilst improving financial and patient care standards.

She has a BSc in Sociology and Social Administration from Southampton University (1982) and an MBA from Henley Management College (2005). Juliet was awarded a visiting professorship by the Faculty of Health and Social Care at London South Bank University in 2011 after holding a joint post with NHS Barking and Dagenham and London South Bank University from 2009. Juliet qualified as a registered General Nurse in 1986 and a Registered Midwife in 1988.