It goes without saying that relationships are at the centre of all person-centred care in care homes
I recently attended my first British Society of Gerontology (BSG) Annual Conference. It was an in-person three-day event, hosted by Newcastle University.
At the conference I was invited to present a poster based on our recent literature review and also our care home research study findings (EHCH Study) at a Care Home SIG Symposium. Both of these presentations had the theme of person-centred (personalised) care in care homes.
Even though I am a Mental Health Nurse with over two decades of experience working with older people, I am relatively new to Care Home research. The conference was a great chance for me to network with researchers with similar interests. However, I was left reflecting on my presentations and the findings of our study.
Reflecting on my presentations and our study’s findings
Whilst answering the questions that followed my presentations and networking over the three days, I was left thinking to myself, ‘so what’…
The findings of our literature review and our study highlighted that the main components of person-centred care in care homes are ‘relational’. So, what do I mean by that. What I mean is that a person-centred care home culture is formed through healthy and meaningful relationships, which are built on a mutual respect and understanding of one another. So, what is new about person-centred care being ‘relational’ I hear you say. Well, my answer is probably not much really!
We have known for a very long time that if a person’s needs are to be met in a way that ‘matters to them’, then the relationships they have with their care provider(s) is important. Reflecting on this ‘relational’ concept of person-centred care I wondered if we had begun to take person-centred care for granted a little. It also got me thinking whether we should expand our thoughts beyond the ‘person in the centre’ of care and consider the ‘people in the centre’ of care.
Thinking beyond the person in the centre of care
The principle of person-centred care is that we should consider and respect the needs and preferences of individuals in order to deliver care that ‘matters to them’. Again, you might say ‘so what’. I believe I have always done that, and I certainly witnessed it across the care homes participating in our study. This led me to considering the different contexts in which person-centred care takes place. In my work as a counsellor, psychotherapist and mental health nurse keeping the ‘person in the centre’ was relatively easy to achieve, as most interactions were one-to-one. However, during our care home study (and beyond) I wondered whether person-centredness could be transferred to a community setting, such as a care home. I believe so. Well at least it can when those one-to-one ‘relational’ moments take place.
However, care home care is more than one-to-one moments, and each individual is part of a wider community. I then questioned, does our pre-occupation with person-centred care direct our gaze too much towards individuals and neglect the wider community? Perhaps ‘people-centred care’ would be a more appropriate term for care in a care home setting?
A ‘people-centred’ care home would continue to be place where resident’s needs are respected and responded to, as individuals. However, they would not only be viewed as an individual, but also as in integral part of the wider community. ‘People-centred’ care would listen to and respect the needs of all of the individuals who make up that community of care. The residents, their family members, and the health and care professionals who provide their care.
So, in conclusion, yes person-centred care is undeniably ‘relational’. However, relationships can, and perhaps should, respect the needs of more than one person at a time. Therefore, relationships are ‘people-centred’. They are partnerships.
