What is Person-Centred Planning

Person-Centred Planning is a process that places the person, their life choices and wishes at the core of service development. It seeks to find out what is important to the person from their perspective and develops an Individual Plan around this.

How is this achieved?

Using "Personal Outcome Measures", a keyworker supports service users and their families to identify and prioritise goals that are important to them. "Personal Outcome Measures" is a quality system devised by the Council on Quality and Leadership which helps identify key life choices and wishes. Common outcomes are listed with a brief description and suggested questions. For example:

Personal Outcome 2: I choose my daily routine

Why is this important? The things we do everyday should reflect our personal preferences and priorities. It should include things we like to do or that we might like to do in a certain way. Being able to make choices is basic to having control in your life. The way we make choices should let others know about our needs and preferences.

Suggested Questions: What is your day usually like? Can you make changes to suit your needs? Who decides when you get up in the morning? Who decides when and how often you bathe? Who decides when you eat meals? Who decides what you eat?

The answers to these questions are non-prescriptive; they have no norms. The meaning and definition of each Outcome Measure varies from person to person and their individual answer directly informs their Individual Plan.

What is an Individual Plan?

An Individual Plan identifies the goals and wishes of a service users and the supports and services needed to reach them. Individual Plans form the basis of service plans for units and the wider organisation. They are reviewed on an ongoing basis.