healing environments in radiotherapy - Agnes van den Berg

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Healing Environments in Radiotherapy Project Report In the Netherlands, several foundations for cancer patients, their families and ex-cancer patients exist. These non-profit organisations provide the opportunity to be heard and speak with people who are going through similar experiences. Often the foundations also offer relaxing and creative activities organised by volunteers. These volunteers are often ex-cancer patients or their relatives. Other volunteers are not personally afflicted by cancer but have a background in nursing or community work. Examples of such foundations are the ‘Inloophuisen’ (for example www.inloophuishaaglanden.nl, or www.inloophuisdeboei.nl), the Toon Hermans Huis (www.thha.nl) and Foundation Kleef (www.stichtingkleef.nl). These foundations are sharing the same goal, namely to maintain the quality of life of cancer patients as good as possible by offering an informal place where every person feels welcome. Love, care and compassion Geffen (2004) points out the importance of the human dimension in healthcare, stating that “what people ultimately want most from their healing environment is meticulous medical care delivered with genuine love, caring, and compassion. […] These factors are far more important than the physical trappings of the centre” (p. S98). G. van Lagen from Casa Terra agrees; “there should be staff with a cordial, warm and social appearance.” The vision of the control hospital’s radiotherapy department is to take care of patients in the same way as if for a family member, which means that a caring and warm atmosphere should be created through the environment, but also through the attitude and behaviour of the radiotherapy staff. This means that people who work in healthcare settings need to be encouraged to balance their own psychological tendency to disconnect from emotional aspects of their work with a willingness to show compassion and appreciation for the patient’s feelings and needs. Naturally this also involves “giving people the opportunity to have contact with their family or friends who can sit with them” (G. van Langen, Casa Terra) while getting prepared for treatment or during consultations. At UMC St. Radboud, this need for maintaining social contact is addressed by offering family members the opportunity of using an extra folding bed in the patient’s room. 42
Healing Environments in Radiotherapy Project Report Geffen goes further and points to the need for healthcare staff to genuinely engage with their patients on an interpersonal level that goes beyond the direct provision of care and expertise (2004). At Parrish Medical Center, several community celebrations and festivities are held each year, which are aimed at fostering familiarity and reducing the fear of many people to come to a hospital. Integrated medical team A sense of hope and positive outlook can be encouraged in patients if they see all members of medical, nursing and allied health staff working together to develop a coherent plan of action. Geffen (2004: p. S98) points out that “[t]he conscious and unconscious thoughts that staff members have regarding the meaning of health and illness … can profoundly influence, both positively and negatively, the healing process.” Hospital staff should therefore critically reflect on their own attitude towards health and all embrace the same vision. This will help patients to know what they can expect, which restores a sense of security and control. All communication towards patients should be open, honest, supportive and life-affirming (Geffen, 2004; Block, Block & Gyllenhaal, 2004). Also, it is vital to encourage a sense of humour despite the patients’ situation, as this is an important way to focus on the positive (Horsburgh, 1995). Of course, hospitals often have to deal with lack of funding, so that staff can be under considerable time pressure. A. Kwint from Plants for People illustrates this with an example; “when you go to the hospital with a bunch of flowers you say to the nurse ‘can you please put them in a vase?’ So the nurse first needs to pick them up, then bring them somewhere else, get a vase, fill the vase… […] It just costs too much time.” Such a stressful environment can make it difficult for staff to focus on humour and positive attitude. However, this should be even more reason to create a healing environment, as “it also has a positive impact on the staff, since the working environment is more pleasant” (G. van Lagen, Casa Terra). One way of ensuring that staff is happy with their working environment is to involve them in decision making processes about its design. At UMC Groningen, for example, every out-patient clinic has got their own budget for decorations, and an interior designer is available to help with planning. In this way, the staff contribute to the creation of their own working environment and the clinic’s identity, which makes them feel more ‘at home’ in the hospital (Wartna, 2008). This positive attitude of staff 43
Page 1 and 2: Healing Environments in Radiotherap
Page 49: Healing Environments in Radiotherap
Page 95 and 96: Healing Environments in Project Rad
Page 99: Healing Environments in Radiotherap

healing environments in radiotherapy - Agnes van den Berg

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?