The 6 C’s in Health and Social Care

The six Cs in health and social care guide all workers. These values are the basic rules for giving clients, residents, and users the best care possible. If you’re wondering what are the 6 C’s in health and social care, this blog will help you understand them. Giving good and kind social care matters greatly in the UK’s home care system. In this blog, we will learn what social care means, explore the six C’s, understand why they matter for carers, and see how everyone can apply them in daily work.

What are the 6 C’s in Health and Social Care?

The six C’s are key values that help carers provide excellent care. The National Health Service (NHS) in the UK introduced these ideas to improve care quality and patient outcomes. Everyone who works in health and social care—like nurses in care homes, support workers, non-medical staff, and registered healthcare workers—must follow these values in their work.

Carers must apply all six C’s to deliver kind and high-quality care.

Compassion

Carers must show kindness, care, and empathy toward those they support. They should build strong relationships with the people they help and care for both their physical and emotional needs.

Competence

Carers need the right education, training, and experience to provide good care. They must stay updated on health knowledge, follow best practices, and understand each person’s unique needs. Competence ensures the highest quality of care.

Communication

Good communication happens when both people share and listen. Carers should respect the views of care users and their loved ones and include them when making care decisions.

Honest communication builds trust and helps carers meet the needs and wishes of the people they support.

Courage

Courage means speaking up for people’s safety and rights, even in hard situations. Carers must protect the people they care for and fix problems right away. Admitting mistakes and correcting them also takes courage.

Commitment

Commitment means working hard and staying loyal to the people you support. Carers must help people live better lives and adjust care plans when needed.

Caring culture

A caring culture grows when everyone in the team shares and follows these values. Leaders and care workers at all levels should live by the six C’s and use them in daily decisions and actions.

Why do they matter in health and social care?

The six C’s help care workers treat everyone with kindness and respect. They encourage strong communication and ongoing improvement. Jane Cummingswho is the Chief Nursing Officer for NHS England, introduced the six C’s in December 2012. Each C highlights a different part of care, but together, they create one clear and united vision for the whole care sector.

These values help teams set high standards, hold themselves accountable, and understand what matters most in care. Every C plays an equal role in ensuring people receive kind and thoughtful care.

How do the 6 C’s affect care providers?

The six C’s bring real benefits to carers, especially in-home care. Carers who follow these values often feel more satisfied because they can see the positive impact of their care.

These values create a healthy workplace where team members work better together through good communication. Carers who speak up and stand by the people they support can make big improvements in care.

How to bring the 6 C’s of social care into the organisation?

To truly follow the six C’s, the whole organisation must live by them. Leaders must set an example and build a kind and respectful culture. Carers can run regular training and group sessions to help everyone understand how to use the six C’s in their daily work. Staff reviews should look at how well carers show courage, compassion, and communication—not just technical skills.

Care homes in the UK can create strong, person-centred care by putting the six C’s into practice at every level. This approach improves the lives of the people they support.

In the UK, home care works best when carers follow the six C’s. Care workers who show commitment, compassion, communication, competence, and courage—and build a caring culture—can give people the best support and help them live fully in their own homes.

Conclusion

If you’ve ever asked what are the 6 C’s in health and social care, now you know they form the heart of great care. The government introduced the six C’s to set clear standards for everyone in care. Employers should hire and keep staff who understand and follow these values. When workers and values come together, they create a strong, supportive culture.

This caring culture helps everyone do the right thing and builds a team that always gives the best care.

If you feel passionate about healthcare, sign up for our Health and Social Care course from the Open Learning Academy. This course gives you the training you need to succeed in this field.