Embedding the 6 Cs into clinical research practice and management

The White Paper, Equity and Excellence:liberating the NHS (DH, 2010) emphasises the promotion and conduct of research as a core NHS role. The updated NHS Constitution(DH, 2013) outlines its commitment to innovation and also to the promotion and conduct of research to improve the current and future health and social care of the population.Furthermore, NHS England (2013) in its guidance, Everyone Counts: planning for patients 2014/15 to 2018/19, identified research as one of the essential elements for a successful and sustainable health economy recommending research and evaluation be embedded across the whole patient pathway.The 6 Cs were launched in 2012 to drive the Compassion in Practice vision with calls for every nurse, midwife and member of the care team to implement them into practice (NHS Commissioning Board, 2013). The 6 Cs can be embedded into the world of clinical research so that research patients are afforded the same levels of compassionate care by all members of the research workforce and, indeed, to drive compassion in practice for the researchers themselves. It is suggested that this will result in high quality, compassionate personalised care for all and that the biggest voices will be those of the patients themselves.