Person Centred Care

We hear a lot about "person-centred" care in the care sector to the extent that you can't be delivering "good" care unless it's "person-centred" now.  But what does it mean?   Trying to discover what it really means is not straightforward and there seems to be many interpretations.   It can mean individualised care or a set of techniques to use with people with dementia or just a value base. 

The best definition which I've found for person-centred care is from Dawn Brooker* who describes four elements to person centred care using the following "VIPS" model:
1. Valuing people with dementia and their carers - promoting their rights and inclusion regardless of their age or abilities.
2. Treating people as Individuals with all their history, personality, preferences and resources.
3. Understanding the Perspective for the person with dementia, their experience and empathising with them.
4. Recognising the need for a  Social environment which enriches and promotes relationships and focuses on the abilities of the person with dementia.

This is an excellent  blueprint for person-centered care planning and delivery and for developing our domiciliary care service within SureCare.  We value people by ensuring that they get the time and quality of service which they deserve.. We treat each client as  an individual who has choice and aim to focus on supporting the client to make the most of  his or her abilities. We aim to provide a service which supports people in their own homes to remain part of their community and lead as full lives as possible. 

For more information on SureCare services please go to http://www.surecarewarks.co.uk/

*See Person Centred Dementia Care by Dawn Brooker ISBN 978-1-84310-337-0