Care Plans

That sounds like a great idea. I might worry that some people would feel a bit apprehensive about giving full details about their care plan but having some views on what makes it better or worse. As someone who writes care plans very often I'd be interested to know everyone's thoughts. I often struggle to find the balance between including too much information which might make the care plan too long to be of any use and setting it out more like a contract that is practically useful but not very personal. Any thoughts?

Hi there As a user of a CMHT and a PPI Lead, I wrote my Crisis plan myself after the initial meeting with my care coordinator. She gave me the starting questions and we worked through a few of them before running out of time. So I took them home and worked on them myself getting the views & contributions of my family and friends where needed for the supporter section. This was great for me as it helped me to understand what keeps me well and how resilient I am and what they truly thought of me. Armed with all this information I sent a draft copy back to the care coordinator then met her for a second time to finalise any bits, which weren't needed as it happens. This worked well for me and I now have a crisis plan which will work for me and I was responsible for the content. That's my experience.

Hi, As a Peer Mentor I help inpatients to go through their Recovery Workbook. This book, focusing on their care plan, starts with what led them to being in hospital, likes and dislikes, what they need support with, and who they want to be involved in their care plan. It looks at Managing Recovery, and is "All about Me, by Me." The workbook goes on to look at Goals, Strengths, Decision Making, Hitting brick walls and lots more. It works and is filled in using the node-link mapping method. As is the case with a lot of things, the timing of introduction to this workbook is crucial but massively beneficial.

This workbook sounds great. Is it something that has been developed where you work? If you could share a copy somehow that would be great!

Hi, yes this workbook was developed at my place of work. Service Users were involved in it's development, which always produces positive results. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to share it outside of the trust where it was developed.