Compassion in Healthcare

Compassion is a core value in health care and fundamental to social work practice. Social workers hold that every human being has a unique and inherent equal worth. The social work profession is founded on the principles of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Social workers strive to maximise the physical, mental and social wellbeing of individuals and society. Social work practice in health care can involve complex situations where social workers may need to make difficult decisions. Compassion, with its focus on alleviating the suffering of the other, provides the basis upon which social workers can choose the most constructive course of action to take.