Better Together information pack: 3. How does Mencap support people in a person centred way?
The Better Together pack has been split into different documents, each covering a different area of information about Mencap and our services; including how we work with the people we support, and the importance of building and maintaining strong
relationships
Relationships are about the people in your life. You might have different types of relationships like friendships, family relationships, or a boyfriend or girlfriend.
with their family and friends.
Unless stated otherwise, all sections of the information pack are applicable to England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The information on this page follows the What matters most? section of the Better Together information pack.
How does Mencap support people in a ‘person centred’ way?
Mencap provides personalised support to people with learning disabilities; this means that we work to ensure the person we support is at the centre of what we do.
What matters most to us
What matters most to us is the way Mencap works to provide high-quality personalised support. It helps us to ensure that people have great experiences, and a good quality of life. Through 'What matters most to us' we collect information about our work, the impact it has, and how we can learn from it moving forwards.
As part of 'What matters most to us', we use:
Person-centred thinking
The basis of 'What matters most to us' is person-centred thinking. Every individual is different, so we start by learning as much as we can about them, including their wishes, wants, needs, experiences, background, family and friends. We use this information to plan their day-to-day support.
One-page profiles
One-page profiles are a short summary of information about a person, they give information on people’s likes, dislikes, preferences and needs. One tool we use to develop one-page profiles is ‘important to and important for’, this helps us to understand the things, big or small, that are important to or for the person, to make sure we capture the things that matter most. Using this tool helps us to think about the things that the people we support need, and want, to ensure that they have great lives.
We involve the people we support and their family and friends in developing their one-page profiles at the first available opportunity. Some of our colleagues may also have one-page profiles to tell their colleagues, the people they support and families more about who they are. You can ask the managers who oversee the service for more information, or ask to see their profiles.
Case study – how we personalise support
Joanne has Cerebral Palsy and requires physiotherapy daily as well as the use of a standing frame, exercise and leg and hand splints. She is assisted to do everything in life by using either specialised equipment or with personal support from their support team. Joanne is unable to speak but does use recognisable non-verbal communication signals to tell us what her needs are and to make personal choices.
Joanne’s personal support plan is written to incorporate her needs, wishes and wants. It includes individual plans and risk assessments to inform the support team how to carry out the exercises and use her equipment properly.
The team have an iPad with the physiotherapy exercises on it for the team to follow, and Joanne chooses her favourite music to listen to whilst carrying them out. It is an intensive regime, which can be arduous and uncomfortable at times, therefore additional effort is made by everybody
involved
Involved is being included in something or taking part in something.
to incorporate Joanne’s choices, feelings, mood and wellness into the plan.
The next section of the Better Together information pack is Communicating effectively.