12th December 2024
Making personalised care 'our business'
A Blog by Gavin Street, Communications and Marketing Lead for Personalisation, It’s All About People Personalisation Programme
I love 'A Christmas Carol' and at this time of year, I always reread Dickens' classic story - and watch all (and I mean ALL) the various TV and film adaptations.
There's one line that never fails to hit home...Jacob Marley’s “Mankind was my business”, reflecting Dickens' beliefs about social responsibility - the idea that we are all accountable to each other, and that it is our duty to actively connect with and help one another.
This line resonates even more strongly this year because it describes what drives the It’s All About People Personalisation Programme Team, which I was thrilled to join this year. We are absolutely committed to making person-centred care the ‘business’ of the Lincolnshire health, care, and wellbeing system.
Personalisation is a proven approach that creates better relationships between those needing support and those providing it, transforming the way care is delivered and leading to better outcomes for both people and providers.
Person-centred approaches support us to be accountable to each other, to connect with and to more successfully help each other.
I mention above that personalisation is a ‘proven’ approach, and it is. The evidence base for person-centred care is substantial and continues to grow, demonstrating positive impacts on people, professionals, the system, and finances.
Personalisation also helps us to tackle health inequalities, taking account of different backgrounds and preferences, with people from lower socioeconomic groups able to benefit the most from personalised care approaches.
With all this in mind, I think it's fair to say that Dickens would be an It's All About People Personalisation Champion.
Read our document Evidence of Personalisation Impacts for examples of the power of person-centred approaches to effect meaningful change.
Personalisation is key to the future of health and care nationally and in Lincolnshire
With such a wealth of evidence, it's no surprise that personalisation is now right at the heart of health and care strategy thinking, including the NHS Long Term Plan, the Care Act, and Lord Darzi’s recent Independent investigation of the NHS in England.
And, at the local level, personalisation is a key element of both the Better Lives Lincolnshire Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) Strategy and the NHS Lincolnshire Joint Forward Plan 2023 – 2028:
- Better Lives Lincolnshire ICP Strategy: Personalisation is one of the strategy’s five strategic enablers.
- NHS Lincolnshire Joint Forward Plan: ‘A better relationship with the public’ is not only Priority 1, but also underpins all the other priorities identified for the strategy.
Download both strategy documents from the side panel to see the essential role that personalisation and a 'better relationship' play in the future of health and care in Lincolnshire.
Lord Darzi’s report makes it clear that “the best change empowers patients to take as much control of their care as possible”, so the direction is clear.
By committing to person-centred care and engaging in personalised care training, Lincolnshire organisations can deliver on a vision for a health, care and wellbeing system that is truly built around people.
