For healthcare professionals

When a relationship breaks down with a patient or their family, you may feel a range of emotions including frustration, anxiety, stress and helplessness. It can seem as if the situation cannot be resolved. If the patient is a child, you may feel that you cannot provide the best care and treatment for them.

Sometimes you and your colleagues may feel that it is time for invasive treatment to be stopped but the family may see things very differently. Our expert mediators have many years of experience working with professionals, patients and families to help resolve these complex disagreements while keeping the patient at the centre of decision-making.

 

Medical and Social Care Mediation

Bringing in an external team allowed us to build a better position of trust and provided a clear moment in time to refresh the relationship between medical team and family … there was something unique and important for the parents about having you as part of the conversations.

- Consultant paediatrician

We help professionals and families to:

  • Restore trust and good communication
  • Focus on the person being cared for
  • Explore the underlying issues that may be contributing to the situation
  • Understand the key issues and what can realistically be achieved
  • Agree a way forward that everyone can accept

 

How we work

We work independently of any health or social care organisation. The mediation will go ahead once everyone is willing to take part. Before the mediation we will contact you to agree a convenient time to meet, discuss what mediation involves and talk to you about the disagreement. Mediation is a flexible process so the number and length of meetings will vary from case to case.

Once we have talked to you and to the family and understand the issues and feelings involved on all sides, we will design a mediation process which will give everyone involved the best possible chance of reaching agreement. Sometimes this process may involve a number of meetings over several weeks depending on the clinical situation and the complexities of the case.

The case reached the point where the clinical team were almost at burn out. Both my consultant and I had one to one time with the mediator during the time of highest conflict as well as debriefing afterwards. This support was invaluable. Having a fresh pair of eyes allowed us to look systematically at the case and how to manage it.

– Clinical nurse specialist


Confidentiality

Everything that is said during a mediation is confidential. Your express consent is needed to share any information.

Only the terms of any agreement will be written down and documented in the care notes. Mediation is “without prejudice” - a legal term which means that nothing said during the mediation can be used if the disagreement later goes to court.

The only circumstances when confidentiality may not apply is where the mediator believes that there is a significant risk of harm to a person or if either side is breaking the law, or is ordered to disclose information by a court.

 

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