Key points understood from patient experiences:

Being honest and open with a person is crucial. I find this can sometimes be quite tricky in the sense of gaging how ready people can be for the information. If they are the ones requesting this then I will always give honest answers however at times, I have found a person is not quite ready and can still be struggling with acceptance of their diagnosis. I have a patient at the moment who does not want to discuss too far in to the future and this makes it very difficult to future plan and discuss possible adaptations which may take some time to organise. They are aware of how their condition may progress but in order to cope, they do not want to look too far ahead. I guess it is about assessing and offering the information but ultimately, it is the person’s decision about when and how they receive it.

Communication. This is so important for patients to have good communication with everyone involved in their care but also for good communication between professionals. The man in the second video received excellent care and it seemed all professional involved had a really successful MDT. It appeared the OT was well involved throughout and had good knowledge of others roles and ability to contact them should any issues arise. He was also very aware of who he can contact and when.

Informed decision making. In both videos it seemed both patients had full control over this and were receiving holistic patient centred care. In the second video he was given all of the information and was not “persuaded” but advised. The decision was his to make and he was not coerced in any way. A very good example of how it should be. It seemed to make a huge difference in their experiences.

Care in the persons own environment is very important. This is very evident in the second video. The patient is more relaxed in their own environment and most people will respond better if they feel at ease. The interventions can be more personalised and the family can also be part of this. I find it is always beneficial to see the person at home. You get more a true sense of who they are and how they function day to day. It was interesting to hear both perspectives of community and hospital. They both felt hospital is more “medical/professional” and this could be due to the environment.

Effective MDT working improves patient care. We all know this and they both have had very positive experiences. Unfortunately, it is not always so effective and I feel there is always room for improvement hence why we are taking part on this course.