The ‘person-centred’ approach

I applaud the “person centred” approach, but am a bit tired of being told that this is a new approach, and that not so long ago we were all task centred handmaidens to our medical superiors. I trained in the hospital system in the 1970s, in the Nightingale School for Nursing at St Thomas’ Hospital in London, and we were constantly reminded of Miss Nightingale’s dictum that “every patient is an honoured guest” . Before we started on the wards, we had to interview a patient on our first ward, and explore with them their experience of illness and hospitalisation, and what it meant to them and their families, and for their future. We were encouraged to question precepts, seek evidence, and communicate with those in our care, their carers, our peers, our multidisciplinary colleagues, and to teach and be taught at every opportunity. And we also discussed what it means to care. I am saddened when clients and consumers I meet with nowadays, in my community based role, frequently ask “Don’t they care? ” , when recounting stories of hospitalisation and treatment in our modern health system. So, whilst we support and strengthen person centred care, please also acknowledge that, for many of us, this has been the back bone of our practice for decades.