My Lords, I was patron of Martin House in York, which is one of the amazing hospices that care for children and their parents. I was invited by the parents of a nine year-old, who was having a very difficult and trying time, to talk to clinicians, because they did not think that they were being heard. As we talked, it became clear that that was not true: the clinicians were on the side of the parents, but their language was not helpful. We had this amazing conversation, and as a result the needs of the child and the aspirations of both the parents and the clinicians matched, and we were able to get very careful care. What the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, is trying to do is recognise that in most cases parents have good desires, and clinicians probably know more than they are willing to say but hold back because of the sheer pain and difficulty that they see on the faces of everybody, and another voice can help in these situations.
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Should I call it mediation? No, it is a coming alongside. In my time as patron of Martin House in York, I had probably 20 such conversations. The new chief executive has been training other listeners. Without this, in the midst of sheer pain, people polarise when they should not. So I support this because, in my experience, it has opened doors and then the conversations become better.
What was amazing for this young boy called Paul is that the parents are now great supporters of that hospice. They are able to talk to other parents and say that mediation is the best way; please do not polarise when facing such deep problems.