Person-centred care: Benefits and Importance
As the demand for healthcare and homecare increases in the UK, the carer often loses track of the person behind the condition they are treating. This is why person-centred care is gaining so much prominence nowadays. It is important for carers in the UK to refocus on crucial aspects of care, i.e., fulfilling a patient's needs beyond their disability or ailment.
It's been a few years since the UK's health and homecare sectors adopted a person-centred care model. This not only makes sure that the patient gets good care, but it also makes both homecare and healthcare better as a whole.
As a carer working in the UK, you should educate yourself on why person-centred care is important and its benefits. This will enable you to perform your role as a carer to the best of your ability, improving the overall quality of your care experience.
What is person-centred care in the UK?
Person-centred care is a concept that influences how healthcare and homecare workers think about and carry out their daily tasks. It is entirely centred on the person receiving care. However, because patient needs are constantly changing, the term is constantly changing.
What are the benefits of person-centred care in the UK?
Person-centred care integrates the carer's knowledge with the patient's needs and desires. Here are a few of its advantages:
1. Patients are encouraged to develop healthy lifestyle habits. This, in particular, helps them manage their own health for themselves better. It is critical for people with long-term illnesses who rely heavily on health and homecare services.
2. It also boosts the morale of healthcare workers and homecare carers, as well as their ability to provide assistance. Everyone will be pleased with their roles.
3. Patients are more motivated when they are following a care plan that includes their input and is tailored to their specific needs.
4. A patient's emotional, personal, and social needs are met in addition to their medical needs.
5. The quality of care improves, which hastens the recovery process.
6. Person-centred care saves time and money by ensuring that patients receive medications that they will actually take. This is extremely beneficial to patients as well as healthcare and homecare services.
7. The clients feel more comfortable and positive about the service they are receiving, which creates a much better environment for both individuals and professionals.
8. This caring approach helps to find the best way to increase the quality of care. It enables supporting those who may not express their needs. Individualised support ensures that each client's requirements are met.
9. Patients are more likely to be invested in and adhere to their care plans, medication, and treatment when their needs are met.
Why is person-centred care important in the UK?
Person-centred care helps patients get better support and feel like they are being cared for more as a whole person. As a result, it is an important aspect of health and homecare services. However, patients, healthcare staff, and homecare carers benefit from additional significant benefits.
Why is person-centred care important for patients in the UK?
1. Patients will have more trust and confidence in the care they receive: If a carer treats someone with dignity and respect and helps them retain their independence as much as possible, the entire care experience will be much better and easier for both patient and staff.
For example, asking the patient if they are ready to be lifted in the hoist is far less frightening than suddenly raising it without warning or asking for their consent. Once the patient trusts your care and knows that you will not carry out fast and unexpected actions without their consent, they can relax and trust you with their care.
2. Person-centred care improves the quality of life in the UK: By meeting the emotional, social, and practical needs of your patients, you can help them enjoy life. Disabilities, old age, and other special needs might limit patients, but that doesn't mean they can't live fulfilling lives. To improve the quality of care provided, the carer should try to understand the patient and respect their tastes and preferences.
3. More satisfied patients: People's emotional and social needs are met in this approach, and they will be able to maintain a high quality of life, making them more satisfied with the care. Meanwhile, patients are given the freedom to select treatments based on their values and preferences. In addition, if a patient is involved in developing their treatment plan, they are more likely to adhere to it.
4. Improves independence and confidence: When patients participate in decision-making, they adhere to the plan and take medication, exercise, or do anything else as directed. This is not always possible, but if carers and patients have a good relationship, it will help the patient's independence and give them some control over their treatment. It will also boost their confidence because they will be involved in all decisions.
5. Get to know your patients better: People with dementia, learning disabilities, or difficulty communicating, such as stroke victims, often have difficulty speaking.
However, with person-centred care, carers can learn to understand their mode of communication as well as what makes them tick, so as to maximise their quality of care experience. Patients may become frustrated, angry, aggressive, or tearful if carers are unable to understand, lowering their quality of care experience.
Why is person-centred care important for carers and healthcare workers in the UK?
Let us look at why person-centred care is important for UK healthcare workers and carers.
1. Your job as a carer becomes easier: When you use this care approach and respect the patient's preferences and needs, a carers job becomes easier because the patient will be willing to cooperate with the care plan that was developed with their input.
2. A more pleasant working environment: A happy patient means a faster recovery. When your patients are happy, it improves the morale of your healthcare and homecare team as well as the overall environment of the home or care facility.
3. Save money and time: Tailoring the care plan and involving the person increases the likelihood that they will stick to it, take their medication, and use disability aids. Carers in the UK use this approach to spend time and money on what people truly want and need.
4. It is the moral thing to do: Working in healthcare can be rewarding, but only if the patient's well-being comes first. Simply put, this is the proper way to approach care.
5. Reduce workload: Hospitals in the UK are extremely strained, particularly because too many patients admit themselves when they don't need to. Person-centred care improves patients' understanding of their condition and when there's a need for emergency services. Therefore, they are less likely to use emergency services or choose costly or invasive treatment.
Nurses Group Homecare in Yeovil, UK, offers individualised services to our clients. We fully comprehend the concept of person-centred care and why it is critical, and we initiate a support plan after consulting with our clients. We have carers who are compassionate and empathetic to our clients and provide support services that are tailored to their specific needs.