Two Busy Days Celebrating Personalised Care and Partnership Working

It has been another busy week for Alison who has attended two events which focused on improving outcomes through collaboration, personalised care and shared decision making.

Celebrating Allied Health Professional (AHP) Day at Windmill Farm

Wednesday saw Alison join colleagues from across Lincolnshire at the AHP Conference at Windmill Farm to celebrate AHP Day. The event started, and finished, on a high note with a Gary Barlow tribute act that quickly got people talking, singing along and enjoying the day.

Dan Hadfield expertly compèred the event, keeping energy levels high throughout. His ability to listen carefully to speakers, reflect on key messages and keep the audience engaged between sessions was fantastic to see.

As part of the programme, Alison delivered a Shared Decision Making workshop, inviting participants to take part in a lively game of "sit down, stand up" while exploring the types of questions we ask during conversations with people. Attendees also had the opportunity to practise using the ‘BRAN’ approach, considering the Benefits, Risks, Alternatives and what might happen if we do Nothing, helping us to support people to make decisions alongside them rather than for them.

The feedback was fantastic, with the conference currently achieving an average recommendation score of 4.86 out of 5. Several attendees commented that they would now be more mindful of reading age when producing information and would do more to ensure patients are actively involved in decisions about their care and support.

The day also provided an opportunity to share highlights from a recent podcast featuring Harvey, Hepton and Jenny. You can listen here: Ep 115. Celebrating AHP Day with Allied Health Professionals | The It's All About People Personalisation Podcast.

Working Together with Care Sector Leaders

The second event of the week took Alison to the Skills for Care Lincolnshire Registered Managers Network, where she spoke to managers from across the care sector about the work of the It’s All About People team and Our Shared Agreement.

There was real interest in the support available, particularly the fully funded training opportunities. The session also created space for some honest conversations about the challenges of working in a truly person-centred way. Unsurprisingly, the phrase "systems and processes" came up more than once as managers discussed the barriers they face in embedding personalised approaches in day-to-day practice.

Alison has committed to taking these concerns back to colleagues across her network.  It was another reminder of the importance of working together across organisational boundaries to create better outcomes for people.

Two events, lots of conversations and plenty of learning shared - just another busy week in the life of the It's All About People team.