What Parents want medical professionals to know
I am a medical professional
Hello – and thank you for wanting to find out more about how you can have better relationships with parents and carers in hospital.
We know that children in hospital have better outcomes when their parents/carers are part of planning and delivering their care.
Hello – and thank you for wanting to find out more about how you can have better relationships with parents and carers in hospital.
We know that children in hospital have better outcomes when their parents/carers are part of planning and delivering their care.
- The General Medical Council (GMC) document ‘0–18 years: guidance for all doctors’ (updated in 2018) states that “Parents are usually the best judges of their children’s best interests and should make important decisions up until children are able to make their own decisions”.
- The GMC document ‘Protecting children and young people: The responsibilities of all doctors’ (updated in 2018) states “Good communication with parents is essential. Parents generally want what is best for their children and are experts in identifying when their child’s behaviour is not normal for them and may be due to ill health. You should acknowledge parents’ understanding of their children’s health, particularly where a child’s age or disability makes it difficult to communicate with them.”
- NHS England Healthy Children: Transforming Child Health Information (2016) sets out the following vision: “Personalisation [of care] requires a new collaborative partnership between patients and clinicians to improve outcomes that are important and meaningful for the child and their parents or carers. There is therefore a strong shift in the direction of co-production of health between families and the providers of services and emphasis on greater participation of children, young people and families in decision-making at all levels within health and care. For this to happen there must be greatly improved access to information for children, young people, parents/carers and clinicians to enable the making of timely, informed decisions.”
However, parents/carers often do not feel confident in the hospital. Having a child in hospital can be an intensely stressful experience for parents/carers, and your behaviour can have a massive impact on making a bad situation better – or worse.
However, parents/carers often do not feel confident in the hospital. Having a child in hospital can be an intensely stressful experience for parents/carers, and your behaviour can have a massive impact on making a bad situation better – or worse.
What Parents want medical professionals to know
Three factors impact on how effectively a parent or carer can engage with medical professionals: intellectual, emotional and practical. Very few parents or carers have all three in balance when their child is in hospital. The more out of balance they are, the harder a parent or carer will find it to constructively engage with you.
Parents and carers, and medical professionals, have profoundly different approaches to a child in hospital. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it is important that you are aware
You see a medical issue. We see our child.
This is your job. It’s our life.
Three factors impact on how effectively a parent or carer can engage with medical professionals: intellectual, emotional and practical. Very few parents or carers have all three in balance when their child is in hospital. The more out of balance they are, the harder a parent or carer will find it to constructively engage with you.
Parents and carers, and medical professionals, have profoundly different approaches to a child in hospital. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it is important that you are aware
You see a medical issue. We see our child.
This is your job. It’s our life.
Top Tips
Top Tips
- Introduce yourself to us and to our child. Don’t just tell us who you are, explain why you’ve come to see us.
- Know our child’s name, and the basics about why they’re in hospital. It makes parents/carers feel much more confident if you know at least why their child has been admitted to hospital.
- Before you start a conversation, think about what you want the parent/carer to take away at the end. What’s the one thing you want them to remember?
- Listen to what parents/carers are telling you. We know our child best. That doesn’t mean we always know what’s wrong with our child but we know when our child is not themselves. Take our views seriously.
- Be honest with parents/carers but not blunt. Parents and carers want to know all relevant information but it needs to be delivered with compassion, particularly if you are giving bad news.
- If you’re not confident that a parent or carer understands what you have told them or their child’s condition, ask them to explain it to you. A simple question like “to help me, can you explain to me what you know already?”.
- Always ask us and our child whether we have any questions at the end of a conversation. Allow a short pause before leaving for your next task. And always make sure parents/carers know how they can get hold of you if they think of any questions after you’ve left.
- If a parent or carer’s response to your conversation is unusual (in any sense – aggressive, emotional, unemotional, etc) it is likely that there are other factors in that parent/carer’s life that you don’t know about. It may not be appropriate for you to find out what that is but it is worth flagging to an appropriate colleague (e.g. the child’s bedside nurse, the unit’s psychology team).
- Introduce yourself to us and to our child. Don’t just tell us who you are, explain why you’ve come to see us.
- Know our child’s name, and the basics about why they’re in hospital. It makes parents/carers feel much more confident if you know at least why their child has been admitted to hospital.
- Before you start a conversation, think about what you want the parent/carer to take away at the end. What’s the one thing you want them to remember?
- Listen to what parents/carers are telling you. We know our child best. That doesn’t mean we always know what’s wrong with our child but we know when our child is not themselves. Take our views seriously.
- Be honest with parents/carers but not blunt. Parents and carers want to know all relevant information but it needs to be delivered with compassion, particularly if you are giving bad news.
- If you’re not confident that a parent or carer understands what you have told them or their child’s condition, ask them to explain it to you. A simple question like “to help me, can you explain to me what you know already?”.
- Always ask us and our child whether we have any questions at the end of a conversation. Allow a short pause before leaving for your next task. And always make sure parents/carers know how they can get hold of you if they think of any questions after you’ve left.
- If a parent or carer’s response to your conversation is unusual (in any sense – aggressive, emotional, unemotional, etc) it is likely that there are other factors in that parent/carer’s life that you don’t know about. It may not be appropriate for you to find out what that is but it is worth flagging to an appropriate colleague (e.g. the child’s bedside nurse, the unit’s psychology team).
Further Information
Further Information
RCPCH: Achieving consensus advice for paediatricians and other health professionals: on prevention, recognition and management of conflict in paediatric practice.
RCPCH: Achieving consensus advice for paediatricians and other health professionals: on prevention, recognition and management of conflict in paediatric practice.
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