‘Treat each other well to perform at our peak’
A UK CONSULTANT in emergency medicine discussed why civility matters with more than 400 Health & Social Care staff.
Dr Chris Turner was born and educated in Edinburgh, obtaining a degree in medicine from Edinburgh University and has spent the past 20 years working in Birmingham.
He was the clinical lead for emergency medicine during the Mid Staffs hospital scandal, a period of time which he said realigned his priorities.
‘It was a disaster and utterly formative, it really made me think how we treat each other,’ said Dr Turner.
‘I found myself starting on a journey of being focused on blame and process, to something completely different – Civility Saves Lives.’
Over three sessions at the Peninsula Hotel he spoke as part of the Civility Saves Lives campaign detailing how to deal with disrespectful behaviour in the workplace.
The campaign aims to raise awareness of the impact behaviour can have on performance.
‘When we treat each other well we allow each other to perform at our peak. Overly stressing people will cause a drop off in productivity,’ said Dr Turner.
‘Frustration just steals from our cognitive resources.’
Since presenting two Ted talks on this topic, Dr Turner has given speeches in countries such as Ireland, Germany and Australia.
He is part of the 12-strong Civility Saves Lives team of doctors.
He said his experience with the media company’s training has shaped how he delivers his message.
‘I tailor each of my speeches to the audience, so I speak to people beforehand and get a bit of a feel for what they want to discuss.’
Dr Turner covers topics ranging from how to deal with someone whose behaviour is unknowingly affecting their colleagues, to using someone not involved in an incident to communicate.
‘The aim is to get people to behave differently enough to make a clear and demonstrable difference,’ he said.
‘Sometimes to get this message across someone who wasn’t directly involved needs to approach the perpetrator as there is far too much emotion with the victim.’
n All information on Civility Saves Lives is available on its website at civilitysaveslives.com
