9.3 deal with differences of professional opinion with colleagues by discussion and informed debate, respecting their views and opinions and behaving in a professional way at all times, and 9.4 support students’ and colleagues’ learning to help them develop their professional competence and confidence.
If you are not governed by either of these two codes then it is most probable that your own professional code will include statements of a similar nature. Continuity of patient care in a complex system is challenging even with good communication. It is an impossibility without it. Individuals, teams and organisations may each have differing specific responsibilities to a single patient at any one time. These responsibilities regularly transfer to other individuals, teams or organisations. There are daily shift rotations; the impact of holidays; other planned and unplanned absence; the arrival and departure of temporary locums; rotations of trainees; referrals and more.
At the darkest end of the implications, Dying Without Dignity, a report by the Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman, makes for some harrowing reading. After sharing a number of particularly troubling case studies related to death and bereavement, communication is cited as one of the key sources of unacceptable events.
Almost all the cases we looked at highlighted failings in communication: between clinicians and their patient, clinician and families, clinicians and their team, clinicians and other teams, and between hospitals and care providers in the community.
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Even if your professional practice does not involve death and bereavement on a daily basis, the potential impacts on patients and families of poor teamwork should be fairly easy to grasp.
Having said that, some of the impacts may well be less obvious. It has been shown that patients pick up on conflict and friction between the people providing their care. This then affects their levels of confidence and trust which, in turn affects their own communication. I will paraphrase to illustrate an example of this,“ Witnessing my doctor judging and ridiculing their colleague made me reluctant to share my concerns for fear of
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