Why Is Relationship-Based Care So Important For Home Care?

The whole is more than the sum of its parts, and nowhere is that clearer than in health and home care. 

The nature of needs assessments and the discussion of social care as a package of services and support belies the fact that successful care is about far more than a set of skills and services that meet defined needs.

Instead, the most successful and effective care options establish strong foundations of trust between individuals and carers and form the basis of what is known as relationship-based care.

Whilst the term is commonly associated with the relationship between a general practitioner and their patient, the concept can also be readily applied to social care, and due to the fact that someone with a care package will see their carer far more than their doctor, this relationship is in some ways even more important.

Relationship-based care is built on three main connected core principles:

• Person-centred care.
• Therapeutic relationship.
• Continuity of care.

A person-centred care approach is one where all care decisions put the individual first, with their needs and wants considered as part of any decisions made about the specifics of care.

Meanwhile, a therapeutic relationship is a connection between the carer and the person they are caring for, with closer, more open engagement with each other leading to much better outcomes.

Finally, continuity of care is not only the long-term engagement between individuals and named carers but also the coordination between different healthcare professionals to ensure that needs are being met even when a particular carer is unavailable.

Whilst there is considerable overlap between these different concepts, at the centre of relationship-based care is that a person feels like they are being listened to, that their views, needs and wants are being valued and that they feel they are being treated with empathy, dignity and respect.

The benefits are self-evident, with both carers and individuals alike feeling happier, greater health outcomes, lower overall costs and a lessened likelihood of unexpected hospital visits.