CQC Quality Statements
Theme 1 – Working with People: Assessing needs
We statement
Lancashire County Council maximise the effectiveness of people’s care and treatment by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.
What people expect
I have care and support that is coordinated, and everyone works well together and with me.
I have care and support that enables me to live as I want to, seeing me as a unique person with skills, strengths and goals.
CONTENTS
1. Introduction
Personalisation is a way of thinking about health and care services that puts people at the centre of their care and support by ensuring they understand their needs, choose their support and have control over their lives. It also means people have the support they need to live independently and actively in their local communities.
Personalisation has a wide agenda, encompassing a number of different areas, some of which have been incorporated into the Care Act 2014. This includes information and advice; prevention and early intervention; community capacity building; improved use of universal services, personalising the formal support people need and providing person centred care.
Personalisation is an approach that was first adopted by adult social care services. It has been developed further by the Think Local, Act Personal (TLAP) partnership and incorporates other sectors including the voluntary and community sectors, people with care and support needs, carers and family members, and the NHS as part of the Integrated Personal Commissioning (IPC) programme which brings together health and social care funding around individuals, enabling them to direct how it is used.
2. Personalisation for Adults and Carers
Personalisation is often associated with direct payments (see Direct Payments chapter) and personal budgets (see Personal Budgets chapter). These resources enable adults to choose the services they receive, rather than the previous approach of people having to adapt to available services.
It also includes the provision of improved information and advice on care and support for adults and carers, investment in services to prevent, reduce or delay people’s need for care and support and the promotion of independence and self-reliance among individuals, carers and communities.
The aim of the personalisation agenda is to improve the lives of adults and their carers. The challenge is to ensure that all people – including those with dementia and mental health problems who lack mental capacity for example – also fully benefit.
Adults are able to self-assess their own needs, with or without support, play a full part in drawing up a wide-ranging care and support plan and directly purchase or choose the services they want (see Assessment of Needs chapter). Personalisation in relation to adults with care and support needs should, however, be considered within the context of risk; to the adult, their carers and others (see also Assessing and Managing Risk).
3. Frontline Professionals, Commissioners and Providers
As a result of personalisation, local authorities have created a range of roles to support adults in carrying out these tasks or commissioned external organisations to do so, including user led organisations.
The role of the commissioning service is to shape the social care market to promote the availability of a diverse range of high quality services from which adults, and their carers, can choose (see Market Shaping and Commissioning of Adult Care and Support chapter).
Local authorities must ensure adults in their area can access a diverse market of providers, and produce a market position statement or equivalent setting out how they plan to implement the duty.
Providers must also be responsive to the needs and wishes of adults receiving care and support services from them and work in partnership with commissioners to deliver such services and drive innovation.
4. Further Reading
4.1 Relevant chapters
Providing Culturally Appropriate Care
Preventing, Reducing or Delaying Needs
4.2 Relevant information
Personalisation in Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Communities Report (Think Local Act Personal)
What is Personalisation? (SCIE)
