INTRODUCTION
Engaged and informed individuals and carers can mean different things to different people. In this article we use the definition from the Coalition for Collaborative Care:
‘... people have the right support, knowledge, skills, power — and of course confidence — to [manage their care and support] and live the lives they want.’ 1
In the recent editorial on rhetoric and reality in person-centred care Mathers and Paynton provide a persuasive narrative as to why person-centred care (PCC) should be adopted as ‘the norm’ and how the introduction of collaborative care and support planning (CCSP), as a manifestation of this approach, will facilitate its implementation, particularly for people with long-term conditions (LTCs).2
Key to the delivery of both PCC and CCSP, are the four components of the House of Care (HoC):
engaged, informed individuals and carers (left wall);
health and care professionals committed to partnership working (right wall);3
commissioning including ‘more than medicine’ (floor); and
organisational and supporting processes (roof).
This article, the second in a series of four articles considering each of the four components of the HoC model, will address both the enablers and barriers pertinent to individuals and carers being engaged and informed, to enable the delivery of CCSP.
WHY ENGAGED AND INFORMED INDIVIDUALS AND CARERS?
There are over 15 million people with LTCs in England, whose care accounts for over 50% of all GP appointments and 70% of all inpatient episodes. In total, people with LTCs account for over 70% of the total NHS and Social Care expenditure, and as the number of people with LTCs is set to increase then these …