Person-centred Care
An approach to support that places the individual at the centre of decisions. A key CQC assessment standard.
Person-centred care is the approach to care planning and delivery that places the individual receiving care at the centre of decisions about their support, treating them as a whole person with their own history, preferences, values, and relationships rather than as a set of needs to be managed. It is a core principle of good care practice and a key theme in CQC's inspection framework.
In regulatory terms, person-centred care is assessed primarily within CQC's 'Caring' key question and the 'Responsive' key question. Inspectors look for evidence that care plans reflect individual preferences, that residents and their families are involved in decisions about care, that daily life reflects meaningful choice, and that the service adapts its approach to the individual rather than requiring the individual to adapt to the service's routines.
The term has become widely used in care sector communications to the point where it risks becoming meaningless, as many providers describe themselves as person-centred in the absence of evidence of what this means in practice. The providers whose websites and directory profiles communicate person-centred care credibly are those that describe specific practices: how they use life histories in care planning, what choices residents make about their daily routines, how families are involved in reviews, and what happens when a resident's preferences change.
In a digital and SEO context, person-centred care language is most effective when it is specific and grounded instead of being aspirational. Families searching for care are applying a version of the 'grandma test' to every website they visit, asking whether they would feel comfortable with their own family member being cared for here. Specific, genuine descriptions of daily life and individual support are more persuasive than statements of values.