Person-centred Approaches in Healthcare: A handbook for nurses and midwives

Book excerpt: How do we learn from service user perspectives? What practical skills and approaches are needed to make care truly person-centred? Written by practitioners, academics and, more importantly, the people who use health services, this unique text examines the application of person-centred principles across a range of healthcare contexts. It will provide you with the essential skills, techniques and strategies needed to deliver person-centred care. Patient and service users should be at the heart of healthcare delivery, and this book will equip nurses and midwives by connecting the reader to the lived experience of those receiving healthcare. It examines issues across the lifespan and reveals how person-centred care can best be achieved by working in partnership. After introducing key principles and service design in chapters 1 and 2, each chapter that follows tackles a different age or disease specific area of care, including: • Maternity care • Family care including health visiting • Adolescent care • Adult critical care • Diseases including diabetes and arthritis • Care for people with long term mental health problems • Intellectual disabilities • Care of carers Putting people at the heart of healthcare is essential to effective practice, and this book interweaves real patient stories into every chapter, bringing nursing and midwifery theory to life and helping students and practitioners hone and develop their skills. An essential buy for all nurses and midwives. “This book offers an innovative, creative and fresh approach to understanding the heart of patient centred care. It is a must read for students, health care professionals and academics – an excellent addition to the knowledge base.” Brian J Webster-Henderson, Professor of Nursing and University Dean of Learning and Teaching, Edinburgh Napier University, UK “Evident throughout the book is the collaboration of its contributors, providing a real sense of compassion in care. The service users’ ‘voice’ positively speaks to the reader and together with other contributors inspires a practice of care and compassion, professionally as well as personally.” Tracey Harding, Lecturer and Programme Lead, Doctorate in Clinical Practice, University of Southampton, UK “This excellent book offers a number of things to the reader: the theory for person-centred care; a structured approach to the development of that knowledge across the lifespan; and, most importantly, people’s experiences – these jump off the page bringing life to the theory. The book is steeped in the realities of practice and helps to make sense of the challenges – and opportunities – that exist in healthcare practice as person-centred care continues to go to the heart of practice.” Ruth Taylor, Pro Vice Chancellor and Dean, Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education, Anglia Ruskin University, UK