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Person Centred Values

How to put person centred values into practice in day-to-day work:

Value: Individuality

How to put it into practice: Individuality is a person’s uniqueness. People are unique because of their life experience, upbringing, social, religious and cultural identity, personality, abilities and skills. Recognising and respecting individuality is about seeing each person’s uniqueness and responding to them in a way which is acceptable and meaningful to them. Services which do not recognise individuality and provide a one-size-fits-all approach to meeting need, or which stereotype people, or fail to be flexible are not working to person-centred values.

Value: Independence

How to put it into practice: When we assist people we need to understand the importance of enabling them to continue to do what they are able to do and to build on their strengths and abilities to gain further independence skills and/or to regain skills which they have lost. Promoting independence does not mean leaving people who are unable to do things for themselves to struggle unaided, it means supporting them appropriately and not hindering their progress.

Value: Privacy

How to put it into practice: People have a right to privacy. This includes their right to decide how information about them is used and shared. It is important to understand that some people may not wish to share information relating to themselves while others might freely do so. Privacy also relates to dignity as people requiring support with aspects of their personal care and support may need it to be carried out discreetly, e.g. toileting, bathing, using the telephone, or going to the bank. People are entitled to their own personal space. For example they have a right to privacy in their own home or room and the legal right not to have their letters or telephone calls intercepted or censored.

Working in Partnership

How to put it into practice: Working in partnership with people means regarding them as equal and recognising that they have expertise acquired through life experience. This does not just mean asking the person what he or she would like or wishes to have (consultation) it means taking on board their wishes and preferences and carrying them out. Working in partnership means involving the person in designing the services they are to have and enabling them determine how, where and who should support them too.

Use to answer question 5.1a of the Care Certificate

Value: Choice

How to put it into practice: People have a legal right to make their own decisions and this is spelt out in the Mental Capacity Act (2005). Those who lack capacity to make a particular decision have rights which ensure that decisions are made in their best interests. The person-centred approach requires us to provide people with the correct information in order to maximise their ability to make an informed and independent choice. People who have the capacity to make a decision might decide to do something which others feel is unwise but this is their right providing that they exercise their own duty of care towards other people and do not comprise their safety, health and wellbeing.

Value: Dignity

How to put it into practice: Respecting people’s dignity involves us acting with compassion and having empathy so that we respond to meeting needs appropriately. It requires us to consider whether doing something in a particular way is showing the person respect and enabling their privacy, self-worth and integrity to be maintained. For example, if we are assisting someone to eat, bathe or transfer from a bed to a wheelchair are we doing it not only safely but in a way which the person’s feelings and rights are not being violated? Are we ensuring that we do not embarrass, belittle or trivialise them and their needs?

Value: Respect

How to put it into practice: This means to give a person consideration and courtesy and to show them that you value them as a person. This involves ensuring that you value and listen to their opinions, see difference not as a problem but as something positive and important to them and that you do not judge, belittle or marginalise them.

Value: Rights

How to put it into practice: People have legal rights and right of entitlement to services. Ensuring that people’s rights are not violated or compromised is essential. Understanding that they have a right to a service and entitlement prevents them from being stigmatised.

Think “if someone did this to me or a member of my family who is at risk, would I like it?”….it is also important to realise that what one person finds acceptable or tolerable another person may not.

Use to answer question 5.1a of the Care Certificate

 

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