An evaluation of National Health Service England's Care Maker Programme: A mixed-methods analysis

Aims and objectivesTo investigate the impact and sustainability of the Care Maker programme across England from the perspective of those involved in its delivery. BackgroundThe Care Maker programme was launched in England in 2013. It aims to support the Compassion in Practice strategy, with particular emphasis on the 6Cs of care, compassion, competence, communication, courage and commitment. Care Makers were recruited in an ambassadorial role. The intention was to inspire individuals throughout the National Health Service in England to bridge national policy with those delivering care. DesignA mixed methods design was chosen, but this article focuses on two of the four distinct empirical data collection phases undertaken as part of this evaluation: a questionnaire with Care Makers; and two case studies of separate National Health Service trust sites. MethodData were collected for this evaluation in 2015. An online questionnaire was distributed to the total population of Care Makers across the National Health Service in England. It included a combination of open and closed questions. The case studies involved semistructured telephone interviews with a range of professionals engaged with the Care Maker programme across the trust sites. ResultsCare Makers reported that participation in the programme had offered opportunities in terms of improving the quality-of-care provision in the workplace as well as contributing towards their own professional development. ConclusionThe Care Maker programme has supported and helped underpin the nursing, midwifery and care strategy Compassion in Practice. Relevance to clinical practiceThis model of using volunteers to embed strategy and policy could potentially be used in other areas of clinical practice and indeed in other countries.