Southern Health: 'Cultural shift' in communication with patients

A doctor told a panel investigating an NHS trust there has been a "cultural shift" in the way staff communicate with patients and their families.

Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust is being investigated after failures in its care of five patients who died between 2011 and 2015.

Dr Susie Carman said staff went through a "rough patch" when they "felt worried about doing the wrong thing". She said there was "more confidence" among staff to communicate better.

The inquiry, which is due to last six weeks, is probing how the trust currently handles complaints, communicates with families of patients, and carries out investigations.

It follows a report by Nigel Pascoe QC that found Southern Health, one of the biggest psychiatric trusts in England, acted with "disturbing insensitivity and a serious lack of proper communication" to family members.

Dr Carman said there had since been a "genuine culture shift from the top of the organisation".  She believed the trust could "still do things better" in its communication methods but said there was "more will about understanding why it (communication) is so important".

The inquiry heard that a patient's "consent to share" information or not could present an "obstacle" in communicating with families and carers.

Ahead of the inquiry, the bereaved families decided to withdraw from the process after they claimed to have been "misled, misrepresented and bullied" by the NHS.

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Source: BBC News, 10 March 2021