Compassion - The Foundation for Whole Person Health Care

During the main GMHC conference 2015 PRIME International's CEO, Prof Richard Vincent, presented this breakout session on ‘Compassion: Foundation for Whole Person Care’.Scientific and technical advances may be seen as the key to best medical practice, but to focus only on biological processes is to ignore other powerful influences on the causes and treatment of illness. A solely mechanistic approach fails to deal with the basic requirement of patients to be cared for as people - in body, mind and spirit. This session explored the topic of whole person care including its biblical basis, evidence for its benefit and its delivery to patients founded on compassion.

Scientific and technical advances are often seen as the key to best medical practice and have become the aspiration of both developed and developing countries. But to focus only on biological processes is to ignore other powerful influences on the causes and management of illness. A solely mechanistic approach fails to deal with the basic requirement of patients to be cared for as people - in body, mind and spirit. This session will explore the broader practice of patient care defined by the phrase ‘whole person medicine’. Beginning with a biblical basis for this approach, and taking evidence from history and research, we will examine its core component of compassion including its practical application in healthcare delivery and teaching.