Person-Centred Thinking and Planning

Person centred thinking involves the individual in every step. It supports the individual with setting their own goals and making their own decisions. It also helps them decide how they will achieve these goals. It also aims to give the individual control of their own life and it allows them to consider what their best interests are. This can however raise an issue when the individual will not consider what a professional thinks is in their best interest. It is a set of values, skills and tools that are used in person centred planning. Person centred thinking is knowing what is important for the people that are being supported. Person centred planning reflects upon an individual’s level of capacity and what is important for the individual now and in the future. It also specifies the support that is required for the individual in order for them to make a contribution to their community. The benefits of using person centred thinking with individuals is that it describes what is important for the individual, e.g. staying healthy and safe as well as what matters to them.

It identifies the support that is needed for the individual. Person centred thinking also identifies what needs to stay the same in an individual’s life and what needs to be enhanced. It sets out what needs to be changed, when and who is responsible for doing this. It is important to reflect on the diversity of individuals and everyone is unique. Every individual thinks and acts in a different way to others and gaining knowledge to understand why an individual acts in this way is important and it can contribute to helping them fulfil their wishes and needs. The beliefs and values on which person centred thinking is based differs from assessment and other approaches to planning. Other approaches are often based on the knowledge and views of professionals and the decisions are made by the professionals in meetings and the individual may not be aware that this is taking place. The individual’s view may not be considered. During person centred thinking the individual is involved in every step. It supports the individual with setting their own goals and making their own decisions. It also helps them decide how they will achieve these goals.

It also aims to give the individual control of their own life and it allows them to consider what their best interests are. This can however raise an issue when the individual will not consider what a professional thinks is in their best interest. Person centred planning is a set of approaches that enables individuals to plan their own life and the support they may require. Person centred planning is used to improve individual’s independence. Person centred thinking tools can form the basis of a person centred plan as it allows the individual to make their own choices, decisions and it allows them to express their wishes and preferences. There are five key features to person-centred planning, these are ensuring the individual is at the centre of all plans. The individual at the centre of the plans is the most important person and this means that they are the ones to make their own decisions and others cannot make the decisions for them if they do not agree with it.

The individual should be asked what they want in life and they should choose who is involved in making these decisions and where the meeting takes place. Family members and friends are key partners in planning, this is about supporting people to be a part of the individuals community as they are important. Others’ views can help the individual make plans. The plan shows what is important for the individual now and in the future and it shows their strengths and any support they may need. It also helps the individual to be a part of their community and it helps the community welcome them. It shows what is possible rather than what is on offer or focusing on the services. After the first plan is written everyone needs to continue listening to the individual as their wishes, needs and preferences may change over time. Everyone needs to work on making these happen for the individual. Person centred planning assures individuals that problems can be solved and anything can be worked out. Everyone needs to work together to ensure changes are made when they need to be, for example, in the person’s life, in their community etc.

There are different person-centred planning styles for different purposes, examples of these are; Day plans, friendship plans, in the event of death plans and retirement plans etc. The main features of all the different person-centred planning styles involves enabling the individual to find out what is important to them and finding ways to act upon these to achieve goals and wishes. It involves working with the individual, their family and those in their support network. Person-centred thinking tools are used to gain information to improve understanding, relationships and communication. They are designed to help ensure the individual covers every step. These tools can be used on anyone, including yourself and family etc. Person-centred thinking tools include, ‘sorting to/from’, this helps to identify a balance between being safe and healthy and happy. ‘What’s working and what isn’t’, this includes recording what is and isn’t working from different perspectives, this is then used to create action plans.

‘The doughnut’, this identifies the roles and responsibilities of the people that are providing support. Other examples of person-centred thinking tools are a ‘relationship circle’, this identifies who is important to an individual or family and how the relationships between these can help support the individual. A communication chart can also be used to record how the individual communicates. These tools can be used when an individual is making a plan about their care and while the individual is receiving care, for example, if they’re in a care home, they can be used to update the individuals plan. One page profiles provide a description of an individual and it focuses on what is important to them, what we need to know in order to provide good support and what others like about them. One page profiles expand as time goes by and we learn more about the individual. One page profiles are used to share information about someone, for example, in a new situation or when meeting new people. They are also used as the basis of a person-centred plan.

Current legislation, policies and guidance that underpins person-centred thinking and planning includes the human rights act, the mental health act and the mental health capacity act. It also includes the health and social care act as well as the essential standards of quality and safety. With person-centred planning the individual makes their own decisions, they may choose not to use services that are available. This can make it difficult for care managers to commission services as the individual may not want to use them. Many homes have been built with the belief that people should be in a home if they have a disability or are elderly and frail. Person-centred planning supports the individual with their decision of whom or where they wish to live. In order for individuals to have the same freedom as the rest of society the services that are commissioned must not be service led but they should provide for the individual’s needs. The person-centred approach takes into account what the individual needs.

Strategic commissioning takes a more holistic approach to commissioning, this is done by assessing what the individuals need from services and looking at new ways of gaining support from external services. Local authorities used to provide commissioned services in packages, for example, they would buy in the services of a home help agency and would send workers to individuals every morning and evening to prepare meals etc, this would leave the individual no or little choice when all they needed was a little help with everyday activities. A person-centred team is a team of people that use person-centred thinking, they think about what is important to the team, the purpose of having a team and what support is needed. Teams work through questions to enable them to become a person-centred team, for example, what is important for the team, what actions will be taken etc. For each question a person-centred thinking tool is used to answer it.

These questions and answers are recorded in the person-centred team plan. Successful implementation of person centred thinking and planning across an organisation is important. If a person without previous experience was employed as a new member of the care team then they would need to be provided training so they have a good understanding of person centred thinking and planning. Refresher training courses can be provided for members of staff that have been employees for a period of time. It is important that the employees knowledge is kept up to date. New members of staff should also be given the opportunity to read through the residents care plans before they begin caring for them. This way they can get an idea of the type of care the individual needs and prefers. They are then able to ask questions if there is anything they do not understand. All members of staff should regularly re-read the individuals care plans as they are updated regularly and needs may have changed.

During staff inductions person centred thinking and planning should be spoken about and it should be explained in detail. Regular supervisions and appraisals should monitor attitudes towards person centred thinking and planning. Supervisions and appraisals will give staff opportunities to ask questions and voice any ideas they may have regarding the residents. The role of the manager in implementing person-centred thinking and planning is to have policies and procedures. The manager should also plan documents for person-centred strategies. He/she should ensure staff have all training that is needed. Reviews should be completed every six weeks and the manager should carry out an appraisal every six months. The facilitator will have full understanding of their role throughout training and they will have a procedure from the manager to follow. As a healthcare assistant I should use person centred thinking, planning and reviews with the individuals to ensure their wishes, preferences and needs are listened to.

It is important that I use person centred thinking and planning to improve the individual’s life in the present and future. As a team member, person centred thinking, planning and reviews is important in order to structure what and how information should be gathered about an individual’s life, how to support them with preparing and organising meetings and ensuring that any actions needed are followed through. Reflecting on the progress made is also important. In order for person centred thinking and planning to be effective it is important that it is implemented properly and actions are taken, the individual must always be listened to and the team should monitor the individual daily. As part of an organisation person centred thinking, planning and reviews are used to gather background and current information about an individual in order for the individual to be the main concern.

Knowledge is vital so that they can be fully supported and receive the care and support they want. It is important that individual’s preferences are considered, for example, if an individual would like to get up at 11am every morning then their wishes should be considered even if it is more time effective for care staff to assist individual’s by 9am every morning. Different person centred thinking skills are required in order to support individuals effectively. It is important to always use good communication and listening skills, however, some individual’s may have lost their communication skills so they may not be able to express their needs and wishes. There are person centred thinking tools that can be used, such as, the doughnut or a one page profile. There can be challenges when implementing person centred thinking, planning and reviews. There is a higher chance of facing challenges when going through a new process, such as setting up an individual on an exercise program so they can maintain their weight as their weight is gradually increasing each week but they’re finding it difficult to stick to the new program.

It is important to have resources to look at when trying to find a balance with the challenge, for example, the individual says she is too tired to do exercise each day so her weight is still increasing as she hasn’t changed her diet. In a review we will think about how we can reach compromise with the daily exercise program while maintaining a positive manner. It may be necessary to seek support from others, such as resources, family and friends. Another way of overcoming challenges is to ensure that each member of staff is provided with person centred training and that the training is refreshed. This will ensure that members of staff do not challenge each other as they will have the same level of understanding of person centred care. Other person centred thinking tools can be useful in our own lives. Not all person centred thinking tools will benefit everyone as the tool needs to work for the person that is using it. The majority of people will be able to use the relationship circle. This can help us consider who we feel closest to and who we can ask for help.

We can also use the sorting important to/ important for tool. Person centred thinking tools can also be used to think about our own community connections. Being involved within the community is very important within person centred thinking and planning as every individual has the right to feel included in the community. It is important to look at what the individual can bring to the community, for example, the individual’s activity levels, analytical thinking, their interests, appearance, health issues etc. When considering community connections we can use personal future planning, MAPS (Making action plans) and PATH (Planning tomorrow with hope) and personal future planning. Personal future planning can be an effective tool for thinking and planning within a community as it looks at what a person’s life is like now, what they would like the future to look like and actions are put into place in order to achieve the desired future. Person centred tools and planning styles that could be used to think about own future aspirations are MAPS, this involves a series of questions.

When individuals and organisation use maps it helps the individual to construct personal history that is based on their life history. Once the team know the individual and their background, they can now plan to achieve life goals. PATH can also be used, this is a planning tool that involves the team initially imagine and detail the future the individual hopes for. They then work in a backwards way so they know what steps will have to be taken to achieve the goal. 4.1 Demonstrate how to use a person-centred thinking tool in relation to own life to identify what is working and not working 5.1 Demonstrate the person-centred thinking and styles of person-centred planning that can be used to help individuals move towards their dreams 5.2 Show that the plan and process are owned by individual 5.3 Demonstrate how person-centred thinking tools can be used to develop a person-centred plan 5.4 Use information from a person-centred review to start a person-centred plan 5.5 Use person-centred thinking to enable individuals to choose those who support them 5.6 Support the individual and others involved to understand their responsibilities in achieving actions agreed 5.7 Demonstrate a successful person-centred review.