OneTouch Health Digital Foundations: The Importance of Personalisation in Care Plans

Understanding Care Plans

To understand what makes an effective care plan, we should first look at what care plans are.

Care plans are documents that providers use to plan and guide the delivery of care for service users. They include the care recipient’s personal information, details of why they are receiving care, their medical history, their desired care outcomes, and what care and support will be delivered to them.

These plans are regulatory requirements for care providers and are mandated by gov

Care plans are created following thorough risk and care needs assessments. These plans are critical for ensuring that individual service users receive the appropriate care that is in line with their specific needs and goals, and delivered in a way that is tailored to their preferences.

Ultimately, care plans aren’t just about administering the correct medication, bringing service users food, or, even getting them out of their beds and in front of the telly, rather they are created to assist them in having as much control and independence as possible.

Understanding the Essentials of an Effective Care Plan

So, now we’ve established what a care plan actually is, what makes them effective?

Some key factors include:

• Emphasis on the service users’ strengths and abilities rather than focusing on tasks they struggle with or are incapable of doing
• The opinion and preferences of the service user should always be the primary focus
• Good care plans should also allow for updated preferences to be noted in order to ensure that any carer delivering the service is fully informed and up to date on the specific requirements
• The language used in the care plan should affirm the service users’ preferences and beliefs and should demonstrate dignity and respect towards the individual
• They should also provide comprehensive context of service users behaviours to ensure care staff are fully informed when delivering care

Like an individual’s care requirements, care plans are constantly evolving, and as such are required to be regularly reviewed and updated to best match the needs of the service user.

As the care industry is continuously evolving, providers should be regularly updating care plans to incorporate the latest evidence-based information, ultimately improving care outcomes.

Care plans can also act as a point of reference between providers across the health and social care industry and enable providers to work closely together. This allows them to be more effective when coordinating care, further enhancing care outcomes for users.

Why Personalisation is Key for Building Better Care Plans

As care requirements continue to evolve, there has also been an increasing focus on ensuring that the care delivered is as personalised as possible in order to effectively meet requirements.

So that begs the question, what is personalised care and why is it so important?

In many industries, there is no such thing as a one-size fits all approach, and the care industry is no different.

Simply put, every individual service user has their own unique needs, preferences, and circumstances, so it is critical that they are taken into account when developing a care plan.

Personalised care plans are based on what matters to the service user and have facilitated a shift in power and agency by enabling service users to have their voice heard.

These plans are highly detailed documents that outline specific needs and preferences, and include information on their health conditions, daily routines and any other relevant information.

Personalised care plans should be focused on the personal goals of the service user, and as a result, the care delivered will be tailored in a way that can best help them achieve their goal.

Whether that’s an ongoing goal, like establishing and maintaining a new daily routine, or a milestone specific goal, like being able to safely make themselves a cup of tea and a sandwich in the evening.

By incorporating personalisation into the care planning process, providers promote feelings of dignity and respect in the individual as they are receiving care that is completely tailored to their needs. As a result, they become empowered to take on a more active role in their care, ultimately improving their quality of life and sense of independence.

As care being delivered is tailored to the individual clients needs, it can significantly enhance their care outcomes and increases their level of satisfaction with their care.

By including the service user in the care planning process and delivering personalised care tailored to the individual user, providers are strengthening the levels of communication and rust between all key stakeholders while also providing everyone with a better understanding of the users’ needs and as a result, can coordinate care more effectively.

Integrating Personalised Care Plans for Improved Client Outcomes

Care plans are documents which are created after a thorough risk assessment and an in-depth assessment of an individual’s care requirements for service users, and act as a guide and a primary source of information for care providers as they deliver care.

Care plans aren’t just about getting service users out of bed and bringing them breakfast, rather they are about ensuring individuals get the correct care and support they require in a way which enables them to have as much independence and control over their lives as possible.

However, as everyone’s individual care requirements are different, they each require their own personalised care plan which is tailored to their specific needs.

By incorporating personalised care plans, care providers are not only improving the care outcomes for their services users, rather they increase the levels of trust between key stakeholders, reduce the likelihood of errors occurring during the provision of care, and free carers up to do what they do best, provide excellent care.