Co-production is an increasingly familiar word in the world of adult social care. Following the introduction of the new CQC Single Assessment Framework, we expect to see a strong emphasis on providers being able to demonstrate how they co-produce their services with the people they support. Perhaps what is being emphasised less, is the link between co-production and personalisation.

Personalisation is not a new idea for the adult social care sector in England. Since the introduction of the Valuing People white paper in 2001 and then the Putting People First concordat in 2010, the sector is very familiar with the concept of person-centred planning and personalised approaches to accessing and funding social care.

Let’s look at some descriptions for both of these concepts:

Person Centred Planning (PCP)

The Foundation for people with learning disabilities states:
“Person-centred planning (PCP) provides a way of helping a person plan all aspects of their life, thus ensuring that the individual remains central to the creation of any plan which will affect them.”

From the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) website:
“Each person’s needs and choices will be unique to them. This means that staff must do all they can to help the person convey their personal aspirations and goals, and the support they need. Creating the care plan with the person or their chosen representative will keep the focus on what is important to that individual and will enable their care and support to reflect this”.