Health staff asked to slow down and listen to patients

The Sage and Thyme workshop was held at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital and saw nearly 30 professionals from the public and private sectors take part.

Evidence shows that health and care professionals, when busy, focus on physical and practical issues to save time.

For example, if a patient, when asked how they are, respond ‘I am scared, this pain is getting worse, I can’t sleep and I don’t know where this is heading’ – they hear pain and poor sleep but not scared or I don’t know where this is heading.

The workshop was based around the idea of using effective communication skills in a structured way. The name is a mnemonic which stands for setting, ask, gather, empathy, talk, help, you, me, end.

The event was led by hospital chaplain the Rev. Linda Le Vasseur, social care team co-ordinator Karen Holbrook and district nursing team leader Leigh Butler.

Among 28 health care professionals were social workers, nurses and extra-care staff.

‘They were all very engaged and we had really good feedback,’ said Mrs Le Vasseur. ‘Communication is important because it is really at the root of everything we do, so we need to get that right or everything can fall apart.’

The staff looked at slides explaining how to communicate with patients in a structured way and they then were able to get involved with role playing to see how the system worked in practice.

Community psychiatric nurse Paul Corcoran said it had been a really interesting workshop.

‘We were learning all about communication using Sage and Thyme, which is a structured means of focusing your communication with people,’ he said.

‘It is particularly important in health settings. We have to reflect on the way we communicate with people.’

Sue Hattingh, an RGN from Summerland Nursing Home, said communication was very important for her job. ‘We do need to listen more rather than just offering solutions to the first thing they say,’ she said.

‘We need to find out all the reasons why someone is upset and give them our time, rather than rushing away.’

Another session is planned for health care staff and organisers of the event have said it is an effective way to help anyone who works with the public.

The Pink Ladies provided sponsorship for the training. ‘We are very happy to support HSC to train people to communicate effectively with people who are in distress,’ said a Pink Ladies spokesperson. ‘As a support group, we have examples of where communication could have been better so we support HSC’s ambition to improve care.’