Working for the NHS means that following the Values of the NHS is crucial. These values ensure that the best quality of care is provided to patients at all times. The NHS Constitution is laid out by the Department of Health and Social Care, within which they provide the NHS values for all NHS trusts to follow.
What are The NHS Values
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Working together for patients
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Respect and dignity
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Commitment to quality of care
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Compassion
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Improving lives
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Everyone counts
Below we take a deeper look about what these values mean and how they NHS Staff.
Working together for patients
One of the most important NHS values is to ensure that patients are always put first. This means that patients’ health and wellbeing is always the main priority. Putting patients first can be achieved in a number of ways. This might mean working as a team with a range of other teams and healthcare professionals to ensure that each patient has access to the right care and help to get better as soon as possible. This might mean that the needs of a patient will go before organisational boundaries.
One of those being to always ensure that patients are involved in each step of their care. From fully explaining things to them to ensuring that they have a say in any decisions involving their care. These are just some of the steps that can be taken to ensure that patients are always put first and each individual will receive the best care possible.
Respect and dignity
One of the most important things that healthcare professionals can do is to respect each patient and treat everyone equally. No matter the patient, each individual deserves to be treated with respect and the same as everyone else. Although you might not agree with something a patient has said or done, they still should be treated with dignity. Which means it’s a hugely significant NHS value which staff should uphold at all times.
Healthcare staff should strive to go out of their way to understand a patient. This includes their needs, priorities and limits to ensure they can tailor each patient’s care. By doing this, a patient feels seen and it can greatly improve their experience in what is usually a scary time.
Some patient’s illnesses might make them feel more vulnerable while receiving care, so ensuring that they receive respect and dignity while receiving medical care can make a huge difference.
Commitment to quality of care
When patients need medical help, they are usually in a vulnerable position and rely on medical help to get better. Each member of healthcare staff has a commitment to providing the best quality of care they can to each patient.
Ensuring that you understand each individual patient is crucial to tailor the care to each individual. Understanding both their physical and mental needs can make sure that each patient receives the best experience and care possible. Once each patient’s needs are understood, their medical care can be tailored to suit their individual needs. This means that the quality of care each patient receives will be improved.
This might also mean listening to any feedback provided by patients to improve areas of care to provide the best care. By listening to feedback, the quality of care provided will consistently improve overall.
As a healthcare worker, a great deal of trust is given from patients and their families alike. Because of this it is crucial that each healthcare worker provides the best care they are able to. The most important thing is that patients are receiving the best quality healthcare that they deserve. Along with this it is crucial that patients feel as safe and respected as possible while vulnerable.
Compassion
While needed healthcare, a patient is typically either in pain, distress or vulnerable. This is why it is crucial to be compassionate towards all patients. Along with providing the medical help each patient needs, sometimes the small things that provide them support can make the biggest difference. Once you have understood a patients needs, healthcare staff can help support their patients in other ways. For example, if a patient is scared or upset, sitting and talking with them to explain what is going on can make a huge difference. The little acts of kindness to give a patient comfort and to fully understand what they are going through can change everything.
Building a professional but caring relationship with patients can allow you to provide emotional support when a patient is feeling distressed or upset. Treating each patient with equally and respecting whatever they are feeling can make a patient feel heard and improve the care they receive. It’s always best to treat a patient how you’d like to be treated in their situation.
This can also be applied to patient’s families and other people we work with. Making time for them when possible is crucial to supporting others around you in the workplace.
Improving lives
The main aim for any healthcare worker is to improve someone’s life. This predominantly relates to their health and providing medical care to get them better. Ensuring that you provide each patient with the best quality of care that you can. Although it can also apply to little acts of kindness to improve a patient experience while receiving medical care. Improving a patients wellbeing can be just as important to improving a patient’s life. Being professional but fully supporting patients and colleagues can make all the difference. Every little thing that improves a patients care helps everyone around them.
Along with the patient’s care itself, other areas like service improvements or new ideas can also improve lives. Everyone role in a healthcare setting play a part in helping our communities to get healthier. All of these little things come together to make a huge difference to patients and staff alike. By working together, the NHS can continue to improve the health and wellbeing of communities across the country.
Everyone counts
When working in healthcare, it is crucial that no one feels excluded or discriminated against. No matter what a person might have said or done, everyone should be treated equally and receive the care they deserve. Some patients might require more medical help than others and it is important that each patient receives all the care they need. Sometimes, healthcare staff will need to make a difficult decision especially regarding resources. Especially when resources are wasted, as this means that patients might not receive the full care they need due to a lack of resources. Instead, we must use our resources in a way that benefits the community as a whole. This means providing patients with the care they need, when they need it.
Testing your Knowledge on The NHS Values
If you work for the NHS or are applying for a job with the NHS then you should know what the values of the NHS. If you would like to test your knowledge in this area, the NHS have set up a simple NHS Values tool that will test you, Plus you can use it as a training aid for any new NHS sudents.
