What is the definition of person centred care?

A person centred approach puts people at the heart of health and social services, including care, support, and enablement. It is an approach where users are recognised as individuals, encouraged to play an active role in their care, and where their needs and preferences are understood and respected.

Positive therapeutic relationships are essential to high quality person centred care, and so the phrase also encompasses the experiences of health and care staff. Care staff deserve to have rewarding, fulfilling roles and to work in environments that support their own wellbeing and enable them to provide the highest standards of care.

Since we were first established, Picker has worked to promote and spread the idea of person centred care. Our Picker Principles of Person Centred Care – developed following original research with patients, their families, and staff – set out a framework for understanding what matters most to most people, and what constitutes high quality person centred care.

Building on the original Picker Principles of Person Centred Care, our new Picker Principles of Person Centred Digital Care go on to describe what good digital care should look and feel like from the perspective of the people who use it.