Being person-centred in shared living - is it possible?

What does it mean to be person-centred? Baptistcare sees this is a central aspect of the work we do, but we may find it hard to be specific about what we mean. It is very easy to say we are person-centred but the reality can be different from our intentions.

In future blogs I want to explore more of what it means to be person-centred. So please come on this journey with me over the next few weeks to see what we can learn. It would also be great if you could make use of the comments area so we can develop a conversation about this topic.

The first thing about being person-centred is the recognition of a need for an individual approach to people. The people who receive services from an organisation such as Baptistcare can easily be classified as clients or residents and from the point of view of good economic management, planning can occur for that group of people as a group without concern for them as individuals.

It could be argued that such broad thinking has to happen. If a residential facility is required to provide services to people who are ageing, for instance, a building needs to be provided that meets building requirements and is appropriate to the expectations of the range of services that will be provided from that building.

It would be impractical to build a facility where each room is built in different sizes and shapes, painted differently and has different coloured carpet. There is a sense in which we all accept the fact that there are some things that happen in society that happen for the common good, rather than our own individual preferences.

But are there some principles about a building issue such as this that would be impacted by person-centredness? For instance, it would be cheaper to have one toilet and shower block at the end of the corridor for everyone to share but person-centred thinking may result in providing ensuites in every room.

Perhaps the deeper question relates to the extent to which congregate living is appropriate to person-centredness. Do we get rid of all residential facilities and just provide services to people in their own home or is that an unrealistic option in a society where people are increasingly becoming isolated in their own homes. There are some people who will thrive in a group setting so how can we ensure that such places are appropriate to the individual needs of a person?

What are your thoughts on this topic?