In a care setting, person-centred care is important because it focuses on people's needs to improve overall health and wellbeing outcomes.
In order to focus on and prioritise people's needs, health and care professionals must take a person-centred approach and form a relationship with the person receiving care - this means rather than the professional solely advising on care and treatment and the care recipient simply following instructions, they develop a partnership, share the decision-making process and collaboratively work together as a team to:
Identify needs and understand what's important
Decide on care and treatment options
Identify and achieve goals.
It's important to keep in mind that people who utilise health and care services are usually worried and vulnerable and rely on health and care professionals for guidance, comfort and reassurance. In order to ease anxiety or any doubts they might have, compassion and understanding are just as necessary as the drugs and treatments health and care professionals prescribe. Professionals need to take the time to get to know each person receiving care as an individual and understand their needs, preferences, and values, as this will help to better guide clinical decisions, which result in improved wellbeing and health outcomes.
Person-centred care places the individual at the centre of their care, offering numerous benefits, including but not limited to:
Helps people get the care they need when they need it
Enables people to be more active when looking after themselves
Allows people to get involved in the decision-making process regarding their treatment and care rather than having health and care professionals impose what's best for them.
Improves overall wellbeing - if people know they are receiving care that meets their needs, it helps reduce anxiety and increase confidence and happiness.
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