A Taster Of An Award-Winning Conflict Resolution Training Program For Pediatric Health Professionals

Abstract

In 2013, the Medical Mediation Foundation and the Evelina London Children’s Hospital initiated a project to explore the nature and impact of conflict across paediatrics. Interestingly, staff were initially reluctant to name disagreements as ‘conflict’, but widespread canvassing of experience yielded a working definition of conflict which has ‘the breakdown of trust and communication breakdown’ and "impact on the ability of staff to provide optimal care to the child" at its core. The project, based on published research with families and health professionals, provides training to staff in recognising and managing conflict and an independent mediation service available to families, patients and staff to help resolve conflict if it escalates. The Evelina Resolution Project has become a nationally recognised, award-winning training programme. Interactive, multi-disciplinary sessions (usually half days, 12-20 staff) are co-trained, combining the expertise of a senior consultant paediatrician and an experienced accredited mediator. Six month follow up of a cohort of 313 staff found that more than half had experienced a conflict with a parent or patient since doing the training and of these, 95% reported that the training had helped them to recognise the warning signs and 91% said it had helped de-escalate the conflict. Feedback from more than 1600 Evelina staff trained to date, provides consistently high ‘quality’ ratings (95% rated the training as excellent/very good), ‘relevance’ ratings (99% - very relevant/relevant) This workshop will offer a condensed version of the training and an opportunity for participants to practise and discuss the skills taught.