At a time of renewed concern about health, social care, and national unity, the authors reassert the value of the Welfare State for society as a whole, not simply for those in need. Years of relentless regulatory and structural reforms have not prevented scandals, yet have exhausted, demoralised and alienated staff. The work we ask these people to undertake is hard. It can be frightening, risky and uncertain. It requires close attention, sensitivity, skill and support. Grounded in lived experience, and perspectives drawn from many disciplines, Intelligent Kindness illuminates how to develop and sustain healthy organisational culture and effective, humane practice.

The thread of intelligent kindness needs to weave through and throughout all our lives. Humans are the carers of everything, and we urgently need help. This book is it.'

Phil Hammond - NHS doctor, campaigner, comedian and author of Staying Alive - How to Improve your Health and Your Healthcare

‘A hopeful, enticing and thoroughly practical blue-print for a better way forward. It is essential reading for anyone who came into social care to make the world a truly better place.'

Nick Andrews - Research and Practice Development Officer, Wales School for Social Care Research

‘This wonderful book is an urgent plea for kindness as both the driving force and the touchstone of healthcare in the NHS … If I ruled the world, I would arrange for everyone who wields any power in the NHS to be locked in a room until they had read it. But then, of course, that is precisely the sort of dictatorial behaviour that the authors see as the antithesis of intelligent kindness, and so I am obliged to fall back on an unrestrained enthusiasm that I hope will prove infectious.’

Iona Heath - Past President of the Royal College of General Practitioners