The pull away from kindness

Why do seemingly caring people behave unkindly? As one author put it, ‘how do good staff become bad?’ (Farquharson, 2004, p. 12). There are many dimensions to even a partial answer to this question. In this chapter, we look at some of the processes at work at the individual level.

First, it seems appropriate to remind or acquaint ourselves with the extreme circumstances that developed in the Mid-Staffordshire NHS Trust, in the English Midlands, between 2005 and 2009, starting with an excerpt from the executive summary of the report of the inquiry (Francis, 2010, p. 10):

There were accounts suggesting that the attitude of some nursing staff to these problems left much to be desired. Some families felt obliged or were left to take soiled sheets home to wash or to change beds when this should have been undertaken by the hospital and its staff. Some staff were dismissive of the needs of patients and their families.

Although the main focus of the recommendations following the inquiry addressed the systemic failings, the evidence given by patients and their relatives describes in grim detail some glaring indifference and cruelty on the part of individuals. Similar themes are apparent in the recent report of the Patients Association (2010).