When we need healthcare - which most of us do at some point in our lives - we want it to be good healthcare. And good healthcare is what NHS Scotland and many health services internationally aim to provide. But what counts as good healthcare?
The first in a new series of University of Aberdeen public lectures will explore just that on Wednesday (February 5) at 6pm at the Institute of Medical Sciences on the city’s Foresterhill health campus.
Treating people well: what should we value in healthcare is the name of the talk being given by Professor Vikki Entwistle, Chair in Health Services Research and Ethics. The talk is part of Inspirational Inaugurals – a new series of lectures from key new academic appointments to the University’s College of Life Sciences and Medicine. All talks are free and open to all.
Professor Entwistle, who has worked in health services research for almost 20 years, said: “Concern about healthcare quality goes beyond concern about the extent to which drugs, surgery or other interventions prevent or alleviate disease and illness. When people talk about how good or bad healthcare was, they often invoke concepts such as compassion and respect.
“They highlight experiences such as being listened to, being enabled to understand, being cared for as an individual, and having a say in what affects them. Quality improvement leaders associate these and similar experiences with 'person centred care'.
“Person-centred care is a priority area for quality improvement in NHS Scotland. But people have different ideas about what person-centred care involves, and about whether and how it is possible to have healthcare that is effective, safe and efficient as well as person-centred.
“I’ll be discussing these ideas and asking what we should look for in good health care and why.”
Professor Entwistle’s talk takes place in Level 7 of the Institute of Medical Sciences and anyone interested in attending can just turn up.
Inspirational Inaugurals are the latest in a range of University of Aberdeen talks aimed at engaging the public with research. For more information see: www.engagingaberdeen.co.uk