Reflecting on people's expectations and experiences of care

One of the issues I have been reflecting on since joining the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the need to seek the views of the public to provide the evidence base for the work that we do. This month, the NMC published its annual ‘insight spotlight’ report. The Spotlight on Nursing and Midwifery report (NMC, 2024) aims to influence positive changes for the benefit of both professionals and the public, and draws on an evidence base from public and professional feedback. This year's Spotlight report is divided into three sections:

I would encourage everyone to read this relatively short report. Each section concludes with a ‘using insights’ section, but I'd like to summarise here some of the key points for me.

Members of the public shared how several factors need to be present to deliver care that feels of a standard from ‘good’ to ‘excellent’. The report highlights that good care builds on the basic requirements or ‘hygiene factors’, which are often taken for granted - they may only become noticeable by their absence – including elements such as safety, privacy, and fairness. The insight report shared that when thinking about ‘good care’, the public are often thinking about the quality of the conversation with the nurse, midwife or nursing associate, and factors such as effective communication and listening.