Person-Centred Approach in Health and Social Care

At its core, person-centred care is a practice that centres around the question ‘What matters to you?’, moving away from task led routines toward a whole person partnership across physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs.

Person-centred care builds on humanistic psychology, founded in 1940s by the American psychologist Carl Rogers. This approach was then advanced for dementia care by Tom Kitwood, who reframed care around personhood, relationships and the VIPS principles (Valuing people, treating as Individuals, seeing from the person’s Perspective and fostering a social environment that supports psychological needs). 

A person-centred approach begins with getting to know the individual through building a rich picture of their life story, strengths, preferences and priorities, rather than focusing only on tasks. From this foundation, care plans are co-produced through meaningful, ongoing conversations about what matters, with decisions shared and regularly revisited as needs evolve.

From here, thoughtful, reasonable adjustments are made so that each person’s cultural background, identity and protected characteristics are recognised and respected in everyday care. And to ensure this understanding is carried consistently across teams and shifts, digital care records play a vital role, keeping essential personal details visible, up to date and accessible so every interaction reflects the individual at the centre.

At the heart of person-centred care lies a set of core principles that ensure people feel seen, heard and valued. Explore the building blocks that help care teams deliver support that feels genuinely personal.

• Dignity and respect - recognising personhood and avoiding reduction to conditions or tasks.
• Whole person perspective - addressing physical, psychological, social and existential needs in an integrated way.
• Choice and autonomy - enabling informed decisions; using the Mental Capacity Act principles and advocacy where capacity is limited.
• Families and loved ones as partners - involving people who know the person best (with consent) to sustain identity and continuity.
• Cultural and spiritual sensitivity - respecting protected characteristics in everyday routines. 

In short, task-centred care is efficiency driven and routine led, where staff complete their tasks in the same order for everyone, prioritising time and paperwork over preferences – ‘everyone is woken at 7:00, washed and dressed by 7:45 and in the dining room at 8:00 because that is what the rota says’. Person-centred care, on the other hand, changes routines according to the person’s rhythms, choices and life story – ‘this resident prefers tea in bed and the radio in the morning’ or ‘this resident prefers to sleep in until 9:00 after a late family call’. Care notes flag both preferences so staff adjust times and approaches accordingly. Digital records and mobile access help teams see these details instantly at the point of care.

The impact of the second approach sustains identity, reduces distress and builds trust, particularly in dementia care where Kitwood emphasised personhood and positive social psychology.

A person-centred approach has a measurable, transformative impact on people’s lives. When care is shaped around what matters most to the individual, outcomes improve, experiences strengthen and both residents and staff feel more valued and understood.

Below, we explore the key ways person-centred practice enhances safety, wellbeing and the overall quality of care.

It improves outcomes and experiences - evidence links person-centred practice with better communication, involvement in decisions, continuity, and support for psychological and social needs, all drivers of quality of life. 

It aligns with UK policy and regulation - CQC’s Single Assessment Framework embeds quality statements for person-centred care under the Responsive and Caring key questions; fundamental standards and Regulation 9 require care to reflect individual needs and preferences. 

It supports staff satisfaction and culture - When teams work with the person, relationships, meaning and shared purpose increase.

It reduces incidents and complaints - Integrated, accessible records reduce errors, duplication and missed information - strengthening safety and responsiveness across shifts and settings. 

It is ethically right - Person-centred care respects autonomy, identity and dignity — especially crucial for people living with dementia, where Kitwood’s VIPS model reframes care around personhood. 

CQC’s assessment looks for evidence that people are at the centre of their care; the Responsive – person-centred care quality statement expects shared decisions, plans reflecting needs and preferences, and changes.

Inspectors triangulate care plans, daily notes, resident/family feedback and observed interactions. 
CQC’s Single Assessment Framework uses five key questions (Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive, Well led) with ‘we statements’ and ‘I statements’ that bring person-centred expectations to life. Providers must show rather than say how person-centred care is lived day to day, and digital records help demonstrate this consistently. 

For practical preparation, check our CQC inspection guide, with checklists, evidence tips, and analysis on data driven regulation and evolving inspection models, including how digital evidence contributes judgments over time. 

• CQC inspection guide for practical checklist and readiness tips.
• How technology changes care home inspections about what inspectors look for in digital evidence.

What Evidence CQC Inspectors Look For

When preparing evidence for CQC, it helps to think about how clearly your records show the person at the centre of their care. Inspectors look for care plans that genuinely reflect each individual’s needs, preferences and goals, with best interest decisions recorded where appropriate.

They also pay close attention to daily notes, not just the tasks completed, but the person’s mood, engagement and outcomes, showing how the plan is being lived in real time. Feedback from residents and their families is another important piece, especially when it is clearly linked to changes or improvements made as a result of what they’ve shared.

Finally, digital evidence supports with demonstrating safe, responsive and consistent care over time, supporting ongoing assessments under the Single Assessment Framework and making it easier to provide a transparent, cohesive trail of good practice

Digital person-centred care is about enhancing care, not replacing it. When care plans, preferences and observations are recorded once and shared instantly, every care worker can ‘know the person’ at the point of care, even on a busy night shift or with agency cover. 

As evidenced by Digitising Social Care, when digital tools are implemented, care workers receive instant access to personal preferences, notes and risk alerts right at the point of care, helping every interaction feel informed and sensitive. Because updates are recorded in real time, information flows smoothly across shifts, reducing gaps, preventing avoidable incidents and ensuring that everyone supporting the person is working from the same, up to date plan.

These systems also make it easier to evidence good care: integrated notes, plans and outcomes create clear, transparent trails that support inspection readiness without adding extra administrative burden.

Access Care Planning is a digital care planning platform that captures person-centred care plans, life histories, preferences and daily observations in one accessible, CQC aligned system, available to care teams. It enables configurable assessments, ‘About me’ fields, real time updates and mobile documentation so staff can respond to what matters at the point of care. 

• Person-centred records at your fingertips - life story, preferences and communication needs accessible on mobile to guide tone, timing and approach. 
• Shared decision making and outcomes - goals and actions recorded and tracked; reviews prompt timely plan updates as needs change.
• Consistency across teams - role based access, automation rules and handover features ensure the right details reach the right people, every time. 

Integrating with Access Care Planning is a tool that helps with capturing a person's story in their own words - Access Smart Notes, an AI powered documentation tool that enables care staff to record person-centred observations using voice at the point of care, reducing admin while capturing the richness of each resident’s experience. It helps care staff document mood, preferences and outcomes in context, so the narrative behind the numbers is not lost.

Bringing all these elements together, person-centred care is ultimately about honouring each individual and ensuring those insights shape every aspect of support.

We’ve explored how knowing the person, co creating plans, making meaningful changes, involving families and using evidence based approaches can transform both outcomes and experiences. We’ve also seen how documentation, responsive daily notes and transparent digital evidence help teams demonstrate quality and meet CQC expectations with confidence.

This is where Access Care Planning becomes a powerful enabler. As a digital care planning platform designed to capture preferences and real time observations, it helps teams keep person-centred knowledge alive across every shift. By making personalised details instantly accessible and ensuring care plans evolve with the person, it reduces administrative pressure and frees up more time for compassionate, meaningful interactions.

Find out more about how, with the right tools, your team can stay connected to what truly matters, delivering care that sees the whole person, every day.