title: An evaluation of National Health Service England's Care Maker Programme: A mixed-methods analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the impact and sustainability of the Care Maker programme across England from the perspective of those involved in its delivery.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  The Care Maker programme was launched in England in 2013. It aims to support the "Compassion in Practice" strategy, with particular emphasis on the 6Cs of care, compassion, competence, communication, courage and commitment. Care Makers were recruited in an ambassadorial role. The intention was to inspire individuals throughout the National Health Service in England to bridge national policy with those delivering care.
  
  
  METHODS
  A mixed methods design was chosen, but this article focuses on two of the four distinct empirical data collection phases undertaken as part of this evaluation: a questionnaire with Care Makers; and two case studies of separate National Health Service trust sites.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected for this evaluation in 2015. An online questionnaire was distributed to the total population of Care Makers across the National Health Service in England. It included a combination of open and closed questions. The case studies involved semistructured telephone interviews with a range of professionals engaged with the Care Maker programme across the trust sites.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Care Makers reported that participation in the programme had offered opportunities in terms of improving the quality-of-care provision in the workplace as well as contributing towards their own professional development.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Care Maker programme has supported and helped underpin the nursing, midwifery and care strategy "Compassion in Practice".
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This model of using volunteers to embed strategy and policy could potentially be used in other areas of clinical practice and indeed in other countries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Adult Nursing, Faculty of Health and Social Care, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, UK.
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zubairu
authors.affiliation: Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Christiansen
authors.affiliation: Evidence-based Practice Research Centre / Postgraduate Medical Institute, Faculty of Health & Social Care, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, UK.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kirkcaldy
authors.affiliation: Evidence-based Practice Research Centre / Postgraduate Medical Institute, Faculty of Health & Social Care, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, UK.
authors.forename: Jennifer A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kirton
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Medical Institute, Faculty of Health & Social Care, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, UK.
authors.forename: Carol A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Health and Social Care, Faculty of Health & Social Care, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, UK.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4234-6523
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Simpson
authors.affiliation: Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Bradford, UK.|NHS England, Leeds, UK.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gillespie
authors.affiliation: Evidence-based Practice Research Centre / Postgraduate Medical Institute, Faculty of Health & Social Care, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, UK.
authors.forename: Jeremy M
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0653-4615
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004645:Empathy; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009729:Nursing / Q000592:standards*; D018802:Patient-Centered Care / Q000592:standards*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D036301:Qualitative Research; D013222:State Medicine
keywords: care; care activities; healthcare worker; patient-centred care; professional development