MAKING YOUR CARE and your appointments ABOUT what matters to you

We want every Coventry & Warwickshire resident to receive personalised care – this is when your doctor, nurse and other health, care and social care professionals work together with you to identify all the choices open to you, and support you to make the best decisions about your health and care.

It is really important that you feel informed and actively involved in your care. We want you to get the best out of your appointments and every contact with us, so that you can say 'I am ready for my appointment, I know what I want to ask', and afterwards you can say 'At my appointment, I got all the information I needed, and I was supported to help make the best decision for me in my circumstances'.

Why is this important and what does this mean for me?

When you understand what's going on, you can make better decisions around your care and treatment, and the choices available to you. When we understand what matters to you, we can help you to maximise your independence, choice and control over your health and wellbeing throughout your life.

When your care is personalised, you…

1. are the most important person in your health and care.
2. are not just seen as a condition or on a pathway but as a person with different experiences and strengths.
3. only have to tell your story once, and the focus of the conversation is on what matters to you and what’s important to you, not what’s wrong with you.
4. have support to build your knowledge, confidence, and the skills to look after your health and wellbeing.
5. can make a shared and informed decision about your health and care options with doctors, nurses and health and care professionals who see you as an equal and active partner in your life and care.

 

What do I have to do?

We want you to play an active part in your care and treatment, based on ‘what matters to you’. Our health and care teams are being trained in how to provide you with personalised care, and we want you (and your family and carers) to understand what’s going on, so you can be involved in and make better decisions about your health, care and treatment.

You can find out how to do that, and get help to prepare for your health and care appointments, on this page. There are also useful documents and information available in the green boxes below.

 

What exactly is personalised care?

The Comprehensive Model of Personalised Care demonstrates how a more personalised care approach can bring benefits to people's health and wellbeing as well as deliver important system efficiencies and savings. Find out more at www.england.nhs.uk/personalised-health-and-care/ 
 

 

A legal right to choose

In some circumstances you have legal rights to choice in your healthcare. Where you don't, you should be offered choice about your care, depending on what is available locally. The NHS Choice framework sets out some of the choices available to patients in the NHS. It explains:

1. when you have choices about your healthcare
2. where to get more information to help you choose
3. how to complain if you are not offered a choice.