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Delivering compassionate NHS healthcare : a qualitative study exploring the ethical implications of resetting NHS maternity and paediatric services following the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic
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Chiumento, Anna, Fovargue, Sara, Redhead, Caroline, Draper, Heather and Frith, Lucy (2024) Delivering compassionate NHS healthcare : a qualitative study exploring the ethical implications of resetting NHS maternity and paediatric services following the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Social Science & Medicine, 344 . 116503. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116503 ISSN 0277-9536.
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Official URL: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116503
Abstract
A distinction can be drawn between healthcare, where compassion is evident, and the functional delivery of health services. Measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, such as personal protective equipment, telehealth, and visiting restrictions created barriers to service delivery and put pressure on healthcare. Through 37 qualitative interviews with NHS senior managers (n = 11), health professionals (n = 26), and 5 focus group discussions with members of the public (n = 26), we explored experiences of the everyday ethical tensions created as services were being re-established following the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in England. Our analysis enriches an understanding of compassionate care as outlined in NHS operational documents - covering the emotional, moral, and relational components of healthcare beyond the functionalities of treatment. From this analysis, we consider the normative standards underpinning NHS healthcare, concluding that, wherever possible, offering compassionate healthcare to patients and their families should be facilitated, and health professionals should themselves be compassionately supported in the workplace. Our findings foreground the need to consider the consequences of the short-term adoption of a functional treatment approach, including strategies that support health professionals and inform the public, to avoid the long-term damage caused by the fracturing of compassionate healthcare.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||
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Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School | ||||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Social Science & Medicine | ||||||||
Publisher: | Elsevier | ||||||||
ISSN: | 0277-9536 | ||||||||
Official Date: | March 2024 | ||||||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 344 | ||||||||
Article Number: | 116503 | ||||||||
DOI: | 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116503 | ||||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) | ||||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 18 December 2023 |
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