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Person-centred care

Person-centred care is widely recognised as a foundation to safe, high-quality health care. It is care that respects and responds to the preferences, needs and values of patients and consumers.

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The person-centred approach treats each person respectfully as an individual human being, and not just as a condition to be treated. It involves seeking out and understanding what is important to the patient, their families, carers and support people, fostering trust and establishing mutual respect. It also means working together to share decisions and plan care.

There is good evidence that person-centred care can lead to improvements in safety, quality and cost-effectiveness of health care, as well as improvements in patient and staff satisfaction.

Person-centred care is embedded throughout all of the Standards developed by the Commission, including the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards and the Primary and Community Healthcare Standards, reflecting its importance to the safety and quality of health care.

A wide range of resources and information are available to help healthcare organisations understand and implement best-practice person-centred care.

Implementing person-centred care

Governing bodies, managers, clinical leaders and healthcare staff all have a role to play in implementing person-centred care within their healthcare organisation. Exploring the tools and supports available in various areas can assist in effective implementation.

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