The Importance of Person-Centred Care
Person-centred care places an individual at the heart of their care plan. It ensures the respect of their needs, preferences and values. Person centred care is vital in providing services that improve people’s lives. This approach results in better health, and deeper trust between customers and carers. It benefits everyone involved, whilst leading to meaningful interactions, and improved well-being.
What is Person-Centred Care?
Person-centred care is about recognising the unique and personal needs of every individual. It’s about treating every person with dignity and respect throughout their care journey. Person-centred care isn’t over after providing medical help. All clients are active participants in the support they receive, and can choose the extent of their support. Every customer is whole, and the care they receive should focus on choice, autonomy, dignity, and personalised care. Unlike many traditional care models, a respect for every individual’s unique needs is what drives person-centred care. Its flexible nature and unique tailoring to every person reflect this.
Four Key Principles of Person-Centred Care
1. Choice
Everyone should be allowed to make decisions about all areas of their care. This empowers them to feel in control of their care and life as a whole
2. Autonomy
By respecting a person’s independence, we are also encouraging them to take responsibility for their health. This is beneficial to confidence and self-worth, which have a positive impact on well-being.
3. Dignity
For every individual, we make a commitment to upholding their self-worth. Whether that is through honouring privacy or being respectful. We can build trust and strengthen the relationship between the care assistant and the customer.
4. Personalised Care
Every person is unique, and so are their care needs. We put a focus on crafting a unique plan that aligns with each individual’s preferences and needs. Through this, we meet the needs of every customer.
Benefits of Person-Centred Care
When customers feel listened to, it improves their well-being and makes them feel valued. Higher engagement also reduces hospital readmissions, resulting in better health outcomes. Person-centred care also leads to increased patient satisfaction. Support quality improves when carers build trust and understand customer needs. It can also be more efficient, because it focuses on what an individual needs. Therefore, person-centred care is effective due to its time and resource-saving nature. This empowerment helps to maintain independence as well as physical and mental health. Person-centred care is beneficial because all aspects of it help people to stay in control of their lives.
Examples of Person-Centred Care
Person-centred care takes place every single day. In hospitals, patients can give feedback via experience surveys. Within care services for older people, we encourage individuals to maintain their independence. In mental health services, people can have long-term plans, which give them more control. In community care, multidisciplinary teams work together to provide more personalised support. Within home care, we achieve personalised care through a person-centred care plan. This might include the customer’s favourite time to wake up, the activities they enjoy, or how they like their tea. Care assistants will respect their personal choices to enable a sense of dignity. When carers work together, communicate effectively, and respect wishes, they can provide excellent care.
Challenges and How to Overcome Them in Home Care
Person-centred support has many benefits. However, we need to be aware of the challenges to providing such a high quality care.
Time Constraints
Care assistants look after many clients, which may act as a barrier to being able to personalise care. However, with our care culture and training, even short visits can be meaningful.
Staff Training
Without proper training, carers may not grasp the emotional and psychological needs of their patients. Although ongoing training programmes, staff can develop skills and provide excellent person-centred support.
Institutional Resistance
Healthcare institutions may resist changes due to the familiarity of traditional care models. But, to provide care that maintains dignity, organisations should embrace person-centred care. Resistance can be overcome by a commitment to policy changes, and support from leadership and staff.
By overcoming these challenges, we can make person-centred care the standard practice.
Person-Centred Care in Home Care
Person-centred care is vital for providing effective, compassionate home care. This personalisation ensures that clients feel heard and empowered to stay in control. Prioritising these benefits, the outcomes and satisfaction for everyone involved. We are always striving to improve the excellent care services we offer.
What Caremark Can Do For You
At Caremark, we understand the impact of person-centred care. We provide high quality, personalised care that supports customers to live empowered lives. Our professional, trustworthy care assistants are key to excellent person-centred care we offer. Our customers are at the heart of everything we do, so we allow every one of them to take control of the care they receive.
Want to learn more about person-centred care, or the care services we provide? Get in touch and discover how we can support you or someone you love. From companionship to dementia care, we are here to support you.