Person-centred care is promoted as the preferred model of care for people with dementia in England (Department of Health 2009). One way to deliver person-centred care is through personal budgets. Personal budgets allow service users to buy their services themselves. The individual service fund (ISF) is where people use their personal budgets to buy their support from the service provider. It is seen as a practical vehicle to help deliver person-centred care in a range of settings (Department of Health 2010).
One of the key features of an ISF is that no specific task is predetermined. The service user is empowered to plan with the provider regarding what kind of support is needed and provided. It can be difficult to understand how this can be achieved when a person has advanced dementia. This book gives a clear account of how a person with dementia can be engaged in the process of planning services tailored to support what they want, or would have wanted.
The book aims to demonstrate how ISFs were used for residents with dementia in a cost-effective way. It provides a reflective account of how a provider, i.e. Borough care, has taken the initiative to implement ISFs in a practical, person-centred way for clients with dementia in their care home. A detailed account of the project plan, what they did, proposed actions and an analysis of the project, is given. This book demonstrates how person-centred care that involves not just the resident and family, but also staff, council and commissioners can be achieved. Through the use of real-life examples, the book provides evidence of how resident's quality of life was improved by innovative adoption of ISFs.
The book is divided into nine chapters with a foreword written by Dr Sam Bennett. The foreword provides an overview of what ISFs are, their relation to policy, and provides the case for ISFs. Each of the chapters begins with a resident's story (their profile), which gives you an insight into who the person is, their likes and dislikes, and what matters to them as individuals. The chapters include an example of the resident's one-page person profile as it is in their notes. It also includes diagrams and charts, which give a clearer understanding of the process used through the project.
Chapter One of the book gives a clear account of how the leadership team for the project was set up, who the important stakeholders were and rationale for their choice. The following chapters take us through the plans and processes and ask the question: what would success look like from the perspectives of the resident, member of staff and the organisation?
The ISF is based on the right kind of person providing the right support (Department of Health 2010). This book explains how the project went about achieving this. Not only did residents have a ‘one-page profile’ but each member of staff was also asked to complete a ‘one-page profile’. The information gathered was then used to match residents to staff members with similar hobbies and interests.
The authors examine some of the lessons learnt along the way and identified that a cultural shift was needed in the organisation. They go on to evaluate the project by looking at where they had got to so far. Included in the book is a good example of how individual time was used at the end of life. There is also a clear account of how night staff, faith communities and volunteers were engaged and made an active part of the project. The last two chapters explain how person-centred reviews were used to inform strategic planning, and describes the tools used to measure the overall impact of the project. The book concludes by highlighting the favourable outcomes of the project for residents, and the positive culture change at Bruce Lodge care home.
The authors have done a good job of giving a full and thorough description of the project. The language is easy to read and the chapters are short enough to scan through very quickly. However, at times the book felt disjointed and repetitive. This affected the flow and made it difficult to follow. This book would serve as an excellent framework for providers, commissioners and care home managers looking for innovative ways to implement ISFs for residents with dementia. In summary, the book is a clear reflective account of how a provider was able to implement ISFs for residents with dementia. It is full of stories that show positive outcomes of personalised care. It is written in a way that is easy to read and engaging.
