Fig. 2.

The compassionate care flow. Our model highlights how the flow of compassionate care is shaped by more than an individual HCP’s wish to engage with patients with care and kindness, because it is embedded within a system. Professional compassion drove this flow but was likewise sustained by having the flow of compassionate care validated or displayed (e.g. HCPs being thanked by patients or seeing colleagues caring compassionately). The flow could be punctured or upheld by drainers and defenders respectively, through their impact on professional compassion, which represents an inner desire to improve patient well-being and to act as one would expect from someone in a healthcare role