Putting residents at the centre of everything you do

Let’s start by stating the obvious – personalisation means putting the person who is using your service at the centre of everything you do. So far, so obvious, but what does that mean in practice? Do you just need to be a caring person who ‘gets’ personalisation or is it more complex than that? 

We want to encourage personalisation that puts the older person who lives in your care home at the centre of everything you do. It’s good to focus on their personal history and strengths, their hopes and ambitions. It’s also good to develop services jointly, in an equal partnership with residents and relatives, so that they reflect what people in care homes want. We call this co-production. 

As recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspections have shown, not enough care homes are delivering truly person-centred care. As stated in its most recent State of Care report: “Services that were rated ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ engaged well with people who use services, their families and carers and the community to design care plans, facilities and activities that meet people’s diverse needs and preferences.” That is not an easy thing to achieve, especially given the pressure some care homes are under.