This page is designed to answer the following questions:
- 2.2 Demonstrate ways to put person-centred values into practice in a complex or sensitive situation (Level 3 Diploma in Adult Care, Promote person-centred approaches in care settings)
NOTE: This page has been quality assured for 2023 as per our Quality Assurance policy.
To demonstrate that you can put person-centred values into practice in a complex or sensitive situation, your assessor will need to observe you or you will have to explain to them how you handled such a situation in the past.
A complex or sensitive situation could be:
- Of a personal nature
- Something distressing, traumatic, threatening or frightening
- Likely to have serious implications/consequences
- Involving complex communication or cognitive needs
These kinds of scenarios will often be stressful and upsetting for the individual, so you will need to provide compassion, empathy and reassurance to them as well as listen to them and ask them what they would like to do next.
For example, if a close family member of an individual dies, then you may be the one that has to explain what has happened and offer them emotional support. You could also provide them with information about others that they can talk to and obtain support. You should ensure that you communicate with them in a way that they understand and inform them that you will be available to talk at a later time if they do not wish to talk at the moment. If they wish to be left alone, you should respect their wishes.
Or, you may observe that an individual has become incontinent at night because they rushed down to put their bedding in the wash every morning and you notice the smell of urine coming from their bedroom. Rather than approaching them about it, which could be embarrassing for them, you could uphold their dignity and independence by obtaining leaflets from their GPs office that provide information about incontinence and leaving them somewhere that they will find them.
Obviously, the person-centred approach that you take will depend upon the individual. By putting person-centred values into practice, you can:
- meet their changing needs and preferences
- improve their well-being and quality of life
- build positive relationships, based on trust
- reduce distress, fear and anxiety
- empower individuals to make their own choices