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 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 supports people with a learning disability to succeed in the things that matter to them.

What Matters Most

What Matters Most 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 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, we use:

Person-centred thinking

The basis of What Matters Most is person-centered 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.

Reviewing What Matters Most

Annual person-centred reviews and What Matters Most reflection events help us review the support we provide and make any changes that are required. These take place in our services and involve the people we support, their families, friends and supporters.

Families are a key part of What Matters Most, so we actively encourage your involvement; to help us you can:

Get involved in the person-centred planning process for your family member, or friend and share your valuable insights with us
Get involved in the development of a one-page profile for your family member or friend
Consider writing your own one-page profile to tell us more about you
Share your thoughts and feedback with service-based colleagues throughout the year
Get involved in the service reflection events at your family members service and share your thoughts, ideas and feedback.
Tell us if you have any concerns or feedback about your family members care or support so that we learn from this too. See the ‘how can I tell Mencap what I think about the support my family member or friends receives’ for more information.

To find out more about What Matters Most you can ask the managers who oversee the service for more information.

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 to incorporate the Joanne's choices, feelings, mood and wellness into the plan.

The next section of the Better Together information pack is Communicating effectively.