What is Personalisation?

Personalisation means that services will be designed and delivered to meet individuals’ needs and wishes, instead of individuals having to fit into existing, sometimes inflexible, services.

People will have more choice, responsibility and control of the service they receive and will increasingly be encouraged to participate in the management of their own care. Personalisation is about delivering a service in which clients are supported to be informed consumers, with influence over the commissioning and management of that service.

Opportunity or Threat?

Personalisation represents a major cultural shift for many voluntary and community sector organisations in Bedfordshire. There are threats, challenges and opportunities for charities and voluntary and other third sector organisations that deliver adult care services, as they will need to review what they do and how they deliver their services. They may have to re-design services, become used to being commissioned in different ways by different agencies or members of the public and work out the financial implications of individual contracts as they replace traditional block contracts.

Keeping up with Developments

Voluntary and Community Action is committed to working with Central Bedfordshire Council and NHS Bedfordshire to influence and shape their strategic approach and policies on personalisation, whilst keeping the local voluntary and community sector updated on the latest developments.

The key document that has driven the move towards personalisation is ‘Putting People First: a shared vision and commitment to the transformation of Adult Social Care’, which can be viewed and downloaded at http://digbig.com/5bbhnj. Another key document that has influenced the move to personalisation is ‘Personalisation: a rough guide’, which can be viewed and downloaded at http://digbig.com/5bbhnk

Transforming People's Lives

‘Transforming People’s Lives’ is Central Bedfordshire Council’s commitment to providing care and support for adults in a different way, working with NHS Bedfordshire and local voluntary sector partners.

This new approach focuses on what individuals want to achieve rather than simply finding out about their needs.  It recognises that individuals are the expert on their own needs and that they may be able to manage their own care and support in order to achieve desired outcomes and improve their quality of life.

Over the next year Central Bedfordshire Council will be making it easier for people to access information and advice about services and changing the way services are delivered to give people more choice and control over the care and support they need, making better use of resources, allocating them in a fairer and more transparent way and helping to improve the range and quality of local services.

Instead of the traditional package of care local residents may qualify for a personal budget.  This can be used to develop their own support plan to meet their needs, choosing and organising support in the way that suits their best.

Earlier support and more preventative services, together with more help for individuals and their carers in their local community, is an essential part of the Council’s programme.

Developing Personalised Services – Implications for the Sector

At a special event for Voluntary and Community Sector providers, organised by Central Bedfordshire Council in July 2010 John Gelder, the Director of Voluntary and Community Action, gave a presentation on the implications of developing personalised services, for the sector. He outlined six key areas for consideration:

• Strategy and Governance
• Creating a person-centred culture
• Workforce
• Marketing
• Finance
• Policies and procedures

and invited participants to undertake a quick assessment of where they felt their organisation was in relation to four or five key descriptions for each area. To see his analysis of the issues for voluntary and community sector organisations, you can download John’s speech and his powerpoint presentation.

Training and Support

Voluntary and Community Action is currently in negotiation with Central Bedfordshire Council to provide a programme of workshops and support for voluntary and community sector organisations wanting to develop their social enterprise activities and develop their approach to personalisation. 

For more information on our Route to Contract Programme, contact Sara Greenwood on 01525 850559 or by email on sara@action-centralbeds.org.uk.

We can recommend on excellent checklist for those wanting to consider the impact of personalisation further:

Progress for Providers:  Checking your progress in delivering personalised services V2 http://digbig.com/5bbxga