Introduction
Person–centered care involves putting patients and their families at the heart of all decisions. It that approach that focusses on the individual’s personal needs, wants goals as well as desires in order to become central to the care and nursing process. According to Bob Price, person –centered care is that strong indication of interest in the patient’s own experience of illness, injury or need (Sanderson, 33). It aims at getting to know the person behind the patient. Organization and supporting staff should keep in their minds at all times that the individual’s desires and needs are the most important thing. Person –center entails finding out all about the service user, their history, their likes, and dislikes, as well as their aspirations and wishes.
In the past days, it was clear, the service needs were given more priority at the expense of those of the people who are being cared for. There has been unequal power structures that have long reigned in the relationships that exist between service providers and service users. It was all focusing on ‘getting the job done’ rather than focusing on the importance of the individual’s needs and wants. A suggestion is made to have a change in thinking that about power relations being fundamental. Instead, the organization need to operate from a position where they have the ‘power within’ service users and not ‘power over’ them.
Support Time and Recovery workers
The Support Time and Recovery (STR) worker program is a new initiative in the field of mental health. The STR worker is a member of a team who provides mental health services as well as focusing directly on the needs of service users (Beresford, 22-23). It is recommended because it focuses on meeting the needs of service users via paying attention to and respecting their wishes to lead as ordinary a life as possible. STR workers comprise of people from different walks of life who have a different background (Sanderson, 43). Either they could be volunteers or existing former service users.
The role of STR worker includes working to promote independent living, provision of companionship and providing information on health promotion. Additionally do help in identifying early signs of relapse and support service users to participate in their treatment. STR workers are not involved in clinical decisions, medical treatment instead they adopt creative and empowering attitude to their role. They work within the bounds of confidentiality and non-discriminatory practice (Beresford, 24).
Some of the characteristics of person-centered team leaders and person-centered teams include
Justification of the STR worker method:
STR workers can be found across the range of social care services, since they work across organizations and boundaries of care. Justified by the presses of STR workers having a better role clarity than those of community mental health nurses and social workers. The nature and relationship that exist between the service user and the worker was the main key towards success. The essence of working within plans justifies the STR workers program. It seen by helping to translate person centered planning into action for people with mental health problems who are not so commonly considered during literature on person centered planning. They have direct focus on the needs of the service users by providing the support service that users need by giving them time and thus enabling their recovery.
Benefits
The initiative described above demonstrates how the principles of person centered planning can be carried forward into action. A fundamental benefit that emerges from use of STR worker program as one form of person centered is that they help service users to have an ordinary life. Having that ordinary life will help users of the service with mental problems to have mental capacity to make advance decisions that are legally abiding. Alternatively with use of STR works program they are able to make an advanced statement which contains general aspects of life that a person values. It has become clear in the course of use of STR worker program that family members and health professionals can be able to decide want sort of treatment the person would require, were they to be unable to communicate their wishes any longer. Person centered has helped nurses in getting to know the future aspiration of service users. It’s normally done through understanding of both biographies of service users and their relatives. Has benefit of developing of less judgmental attitude on part of health social workers. Which is achieved by health social workers recognizing and giving first priorities to the needs of service users and family members. Shown by inter-relationship that exist among service users, family members and social-workers as illustrated below.
References
Beresford, Peter. Supporting People: Towards a Person-Centred Approach. Bristol: Policy Press/Joseph Rowntree Foundatoion, 2011. Print.
Hughes, Rhidian. Rights, Risk and Restraint-Free Care of Older People: Person-centred Approaches in Health and Social Care. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2010. Print.
Nolan, Yvonne, Tina Marsden, and Alyson Winn. S/nvq Level 3 Health and Social Care Candidate Handbook. Oxford: Heinemann, 2005. Print.
Sanderson, H., & Lewis, J. (2012). A practical guide to delivering personalisation: Person- centred practice in health and social care. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Sanderson, Helen, and Stephen Stirk. Creating Person-Centred Organisations: Strategies and Tools for Managing Change in Health, Social Care and the Voluntary Sector. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2012. Internet resource.
