Between Empathy and Clarity: How Training Strengthens Family Contact Points for Their Challenging Role

In major incidents, family contact points are the first ones to be contacted by concerned relatives. Targeted training helps build confidence in one’s own abilities, practise empathetic communication and de-escalation, and prepare staff specifically for their role.

As part of a hospital’s crisis communication and crisis management, including within the Hospital Emergency and Response Plan (KAEP) of the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance, the operation of a family contact point or hotline is recommended.

This place serves as an initial interface for relatives, those affected and staff in the event of major hazard or damage situations, as uncertainty and a high demand for information usually arise. Such services are generally accessible by telephone or email. Appropriate channels must be prepared in advance and disseminated as quickly as possible in the event of a crisis.

Given the often extremely limited information available during a crisis, the task cannot be to provide relatives with satisfactory answers to their questions – also for reasons of data protection. For this reason, the commonly used term “information desk” is misleading, as genuine information usually cannot and must not be provided. Instead, the role is intended to facilitate initial contact: listening, receiving questions and conveying calm. And importantly: relatives should, where possible, be discouraged from coming to the respective hospital in person and occupying medical staff there. This should be achieved as far as possible through de-escalation and reassurance.

Active communication with relatives, for example in the event of transfers or return calls, may also be among the assigned responsibilities.

In a crisis situation such as a train accident involving a mass casualty incident (MCI), two elements are particularly valuable: clear structures and empathetic communication.

Staff assigned to the family contact point are provided with agreed wording and coordinated instructions for action. These serve both legal safeguarding – particularly with regard to data protection – and emotional relief.

At the same time, training focuses on how trust can be built through listening, empathy and clear language. Relatives need to feel that they are taken seriously and understood – even when no detailed information is available.

This represents one of the major challenges for the function as a whole and for each individual staff member. How does one act when no information can be shared?

Emotions, worries and frustration are part of everyday work in this setting. Training sessions can teach staff how to remain professional and calm in such moments.

This includes approaches such as active listening and allowing space for emotions, acknowledging the feelings of others, using simple language and short, clear sentences, transparency about limitations (“This information is currently not available to us”), as well as self-protection through clear boundaries and, where necessary, ending conversations.

Theoretical knowledge about empathetic communication is valuable; however, it is in realistic practice scenarios that reactions under stress become apparent. Through practical exercises and role plays, participants experience how differently conversations can unfold – and how their own (emotional) attitude affects the situation.

This is why the workshop and training-based nature of such courses is so important:

• Role plays and case studies bring realistic situations into the training.
• Feedback and exchange help identify personal communication patterns.
• Open discussion rounds provide space for individual questions and concerns.
• Reflection sessions clarify what is expected in an emergency – and what is explicitly not part of the role.

This open, practice-oriented approach promotes self-confidence and creates a sense of security. Participants usually leave with a much clearer understanding of what they are allowed to do, what they are expected to be able to do – and where their limits lie.

A key aspect of the training is therefore expectation management. For employees and training participants , this means knowing what is expected of oneself and what is not – and what can and may be expected of the service overall.

Staff learn that they are not expected to provide psychological care or crisis intervention. These responsibilities lie with specialised professionals. Self-protection is a central element – only those who protect themselves can help others.

Calm, empathetic communication can be emotionally demanding, especially in such special operational situations. Therefore, strategies for stress management and resilience building are an essential component of this type of training.

Measures such as clear and secure communication pathways, regular breaks, mandatory debriefings, appreciation and mutual support strengthen psychological resilience and ensure that staff remain capable of acting even in difficult phases.

By combining specialist knowledge, practical exercises and peer-to-peer exchange, participants develop and strengthen confidence, empathy and resilience – three key factors for effective communication in crisis situations.

In this way, family contact points become supporting pillars of a functioning crisis organisation – and their staff become important stabilising forces in challenging times.

The preceding explanations illustrate how communication can be effective and make a decisive contribution. Further examples of effective communication in the healthcare sector can be found at: https://transformedikomm.de/

Empathetic communication, realistic expectations and conscious self-protection form the foundation of successful communication within a family contact point. Targeted, practice-oriented training makes the decisive difference: it connects theory and practice, promotes open exchange and strengthens participants in their role as part of the wider crisis-response team.