Heath and social care – how do we put people at the centre of care?

Sarah Millington, Health and Social Care and Child Development Subject Advisor

What are person-centred values, why are they important and what do students of our Cambridge National in Health and Social Care need to know? In this blog I’ll explain person-centred values and person-centred care and how these values can be put into practice. I’ll also share some useful resources.  

Within the Cambridge National in Health and Social Care

Person-centred values are part of putting people within care settings at the centre of their care, a concept that has been around for many years. They are part of person-centred care, allowing individuals to gain an understanding about their needs and make their own decisions about their health and care. Everyone’s needs are different, making each person unique with the care they receive.

In our Cambridge National in Health and Social Care, person-centred values appear in Unit R032 and again in R033 as a synoptic element. So it’s important that your students know what they are and how they can be applied.

What is person-centred care?

In person-centred care, health and social care professionals work collaboratively with people who use services. Person-centred care supports people to develop the knowledge, skills, and confidence they need to more effectively manage and make informed decisions about their own health and health care. It ensures that people are always treated with dignity, compassion, and respect.

To make sure everyone works in a person-centred way, principles and values are put in place to help practitioners working in health and social care settings.

Person-centred values

Person-centred values are guiding principles that help to put the interests of the individual receiving care or support at the centre of everything the organisation does. 

Applying person centred values allows health and social care professionals to work together with people that use the services. It should be tailored and coordinated to each individual’s needs. When the values are applied it allows individuals to develop the knowledge, skills and understanding to manage and make informed decisions about their own care needs.

Person centred values include: 

• Individuality: Each person is an individual with their own identity, beliefs, values, needs and choice. When providing care, these all have to be considered to make sure it suits the individual.
• Choice:  People are entitled to make their own decisions about their care and support. They need to be given the information about the care and support that is on offer and understand it so that they can make an informed choice.
• Independence: Feeling independent gives a person self-confidence and builds self-esteem. Even being able to do little things independently can help someone feel like they are able to cope and feel better about themselves. Individuals requiring care and support should be helped to be as independent as possible, giving them the confidence to do things by themselves or to be able to ask for support if they need it.
• Rights: Individuals have the rights to speak their mind and be kept safe from harm, the right to respect, equality, and dignity.  Each person should be assured the fundamental rights set out in The Human Rights Act 1998 are applied to people receiving care and people involved in providing care.
• Privacy:  People are entitled to privacy where information is concerned, entitled to their own space and time and  where personal hygiene and certain procedures are involved. Consent should be asked for in any of these cases to make sure an individual’s rights are being met. 
• Dignity: It’s important that people feel worthy, and that their ethical and moral beliefs are taken into account, rather than making assumptions about how they would like to be treated. Different types of care may have an impact on an individual’s dignity.
• Respect: Acknowledging and understanding that people have their own views and feelings, even if you don’t agree, means they are being respected. They are being valued as an individual.
• Partnership: The individual receiving care, their family and everybody that works to provide their care has to work in partnership when making decisions about the care the person receives. This partnership needs good communication and trust, valuing and respecting what others have to say.

These values all work alongside one another, and it is difficult to apply one without applying another. For example when you are suggesting types of services that would meet the needs of an individual, you would suggest more than one to give the individual choice, but this would also allow for independence as they could decide on which type of support would best suit them.

Example of applying person-centred values

An individual wants to walk short distances instead of using their wheelchair. They would like to make their own decisions on the mobility aids that could support them to achieve this. This would promote individuality and choice.

Speaking respectfully and listening to what a person has to say is vital. Involving the individual in decisions about their care can make them feel empowered and helps provide a sense of self-respect. These would allow for dignity, respect, and choice.

Being independent is massively important to most people. In health and social care we should be promoting independence as much as possible. It can be allowing someone choice over what they would like to do – for example, being able to wash and brush their own hair – or providing an individual with aids to allow them to be independent. 

How to apply person-centred values

When somebody is working in health and social care or supporting an individual in any way, they need to consider how person-centred values are met. It is important that when we provide care and support that we try to understand the individual as much as possible. Within Health and Social Care, we do this in many ways:

• Trying to get to know the person – talking to them and listening, no matter how long it takes.
• Reading notes/care plans, communicating with others that work with the individual.
• Understanding that there are different ways that people communicate. It’s not always about what they say.
• Understand that body language is key to reading how comfortable a person feels.
• Listening to family members and others involved in their care.
• Not making assumptions about a person.
• Treating them as an individual, with differing needs.
• Giving people a choice that considers their needs.
• Considering privacy.

More resources

There are lots of resources and information about how person-centred values as part of person-centred care is applied, showing how practitioners and services work collaboratively to meet the needs of individuals. Here are just a few suggestions:

• Hull City Council has provided case studies on their website of how they have met the needs of individuals by putting the person at the centre of their care, working together and applying person-centred values. 
• Coventry City Council explain their approach to promoting independence within adult social care.
• Skills for Care has produced a What you need to know document for working in a person-centred way.

We naturally apply person centred values as part of our everyday interactions with others, and we know how we feel when we are treated as individuals, respected and given even the slightest bit of independence. This is why it is important that this is also applied within our health and social care environments at all life stages.

Stay connected

If you have any comments or questions, you can email us at vocational.qualifications@ocr.org.uk or message us on X (formerly Twitter) @OCR_Health. You can also sign up to subject updates and receive information about resources and support.

About the author

Sarah joined OCR after teaching Health and Social Care and Child Development over a period of 16 years. Having been a teacher, subject lead and moderator within her career, she has planned and developed subjects to meet the need of her students to allow them to become independent learners, focusing on effective teaching and learning skills. She has experienced and survived several qualification changes: GCSEs to Cambridge Nationals, and A Levels to Cambridge Technicals. In her spare time she enjoys open water sea swimming, travelling and cooking. Pie and cake are key favourites.