We have joined forces with the National End of Life Care Programme...
Connected is a national communication skills training programme that has been developed for the NHS by leaders in the field and has received support from Cancer Research UK and Marie Curie Cancer Care. It is managed by a team based at NCAT and delivered through the local cancer networks.
There is evidence that effective communication between patients and clinicians is fundamental to the delivery of high-quality cancer care. We know how highly patients and their carers value good communication. Sadly, we also know that communication is sometimes poor.
In the past, it was generally assumed that doctors and nurses were intrinsically either good or poor communicators. Now, however, we know from a sound body of research, much of which was conducted in this country, that communication skills can be improved through the experiential learning that this 3-day training programme delivers
Because communication is a core clinical skill the training is transferable into other areas of work and has been successfully used to develop Health Care Professionals working in areas other than cancer.
“I just received my certificate today which prompted me to email you both [the course facilitators]
Just to say thank you so much for putting on an excellent course. I learnt far more than I imagined I would. I think we all really enjoyed it. I am delighted to report my clinic finished ahead of schedule last week after listening to the patients and saying less. I never realised I talked so much in clinic before! I’ve been enthusing about the course to my colleagues, so no doubt you’ll be in demand for a long time to come. Thanks again! I’ll keep working on my newly acquired skills.”
Dr Anna Blackburn, Chest Physician
We are currently working with a wide group of charities to promote the programme and raise expectations of patients when with their clinician
We are also producing a blog for Doctors.net to promote the programme directly to doctors