Person-centred care: Rhetoric and reality in a public healthcare system

摘要

Recent scandals in the NHS have undermined confidence in this institution. A key factor in substandard care is the competing demands on practitioners. Individualised care may be hindered by paternalism and collective organisation, while practitioners are expected to pursue evidence-based practice and person-centred care without acknowledging their differing goals. Drawing on a common theme from major philosophical conflicts in health services, this paper argues that instead of increasing managerial control, organisations should be empowering nurses to provide compassionate, person-centred care.