Trust and the chopsticks principle: care works best in partnership

Chantler’s article in the Christmas issue of The BMJ reminds us that trust in medicine is not guaranteed by title or professional identity.1 Rather, trust is built through humility, humanity, and genuine partnership with the people we serve. In paediatrics and neonatal care, this truth is unmistakable: families and health professionals need one another if care is to be safe, compassionate, and worthy of trust.I practised and researched family centred care in neonatal intensive care units23 for 41 years. Families and healthcare professionals must work together like a pair of chopsticks—equal in importance, different in strengths, and always better together. A single chopstick, however polished or technically flawless, cannot nourish a child alone. Two, held in balance and respect, can ensure and sustain quality and safe care.Helen Harrison’s principles for family centred care emphasise respect, dignity, open communication, free access to the child, and parent participation in service design and...