A care plan is a document which contains all of the information we need to provide individualised support for another person. This is then recorded as ‘the agreed ways of working’.
You might also hear a care plan being called a “support plan” or a “care and support plan”.
Whatever we call them, they need to guide us to provide a person-centred approach and a consistent way of delivering services.
Local authorities have a duty to assess a person’s needs.
A care manager or social worker will normally provide an initial ‘assessment of need’. This is the starting point and should give enough information to begin providing support to the person.
If you work for an organisation, it is likely to have its own assessment process. This will begin by gathering everything that is known about the individual that can inform their care and support needs. This is done by observing them and working with them and recording information.
Gathering information and feedback from other relevant professionals will be important too.
This helps to evidence that we are being responsive to people’s needs. The individuals we support may access several different services.
Let’s take a look at an example…
There are lots of different elements and categories within a care plan, many of these will be the same across different documents, for example, an individual’s risk assessment.
What is most important is that we look at the individual person and focus on everything they need so support can be delivered in a way that meets their preferences.
Each card contains a statement about Pam.
Drag the card to the correct category in the care plan where the statement belongs.
How did you do?
Some of the responses could have gone under more than one category. That is perfectly ok. Let’s look at some more categories….
- How a person likes to be addressed
- Consent to support and treatment
- Background and history
- Likes and dislikes
Keep going… here are the last 4 categories.
- End of life care
- Spiritual needs
- Gender support
- Mobility
Think about two people who need support, you will probably find that both of their care plans will have some similar information.
However, when you look at these individuals more closely, you are likely to find many differences, for example, in their mobility, their medical conditions, their likes and dislikes.
Even twins will have different needs, preferences and wishes…
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