Person-centred care in action

A new pilot program is helping turn the principles of person-centred care into everyday practice in our residential care homes.

The Person-Centred Practice (PCP) coaches pilot launched recently and is being trialled by our New South Wales homes and teams.

Chief Operating Officer – Residential Aged Care, Glenn Hancock, said the pilot is helping teams build a deeper understanding of person-centred care and how to bring it to life each day, especially for residents living with dementia.

“The focus is on building confidence and capability so that person-centred practice is truly grounded in the way we work,” Glenn said.

“It’s about helping our teams respond to each resident as an individual – understanding what matters most to them and adjusting our care in real time.”

Running over several months, a two-phase approach is applied to develop skills at both a regional and local level:

• The first phase builds a strong regional network of coaches through a structured development program and practical education.
• The second phase identifies clinical and non-clinical team members to work within their home embedding PCP approaches into daily care, team discussions, and decision-making.

Head of Consumer Clinical Quality & Risk (RAC), Leslie Everson said the pilot was intentionally designed as a whole-of-home initiative.

“Everyone in the home plays a role – from care and nursing to lifestyle and hospitality roles so that person-centred practice is strengthened across the whole team,” Leslie explained.

“Regular check-ins, group sessions and practical coaching activities are helping generate ideas, while ongoing feedback is helping to shape new approaches.”

Early feedback from participating homes is positive, with teams reporting greater confidence in responding to residents’ individual needs, more consistent use of person-centred language, and greater collaboration across roles.

Congratulations to our new PCP coaches and the project team for your dedicated efforts throughout the pilot.

Main image: Participants have gained new skills through a comprehensive development program.