Open AccessEmpathy-based medicine re-establishes relationship as the heart of healthcare. Practitioners often complain that their capacity to practise empathically is undermined by ‘tyrannical guidelines’, insufficient time and an ever-increasing burden of paperwork. Clinicians often see this system as lacking empathy – uninterested in practitioners’ perspectives, health or welfare. Within this context, it is unsurprising that NHS staff have significant work-related stress and ill health. As a result, patients suffer, claiming clinicians do not communicate adequately, often leaving their needs and concerns insufficiently addressed.
Empathy, seeing the world through the eyes of another, can be challenging. Consider the following real-life example. The mother of an orthopaedic surgeon collapsed at home. She was admitted to her son’s hospital with uncontrolled atrial fibrillation. Within 20 minutes, she had an ECG, chest X-ray, bloods taken, and her heart was back in normal rhythm. After two days in hospital, she recovered and was sent home. Her son was proud of the care she had received. He later asked her what she thought about his hospital. He was horrified to find out that it had been the worst two days of her life; afraid she was going to die and not see her grandchildren again. Her care had been guideline-driven and effective, but her fear and confusion was overlooked. Even her own son failed to see the world through her eyes.
In this brief paper, we provide a preliminary roadmap elaborating on current barriers to empathy and how they can be overcome.
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