Enablers and barriers for engaged, informed individuals and carers: left wall of the House of Care framework

INTRODUCTION Engaged and informed individuals and carers can mean different things to different people. In this article we use the definition from the Coalition for Collaborative Care: ‘... people have the right support, knowledge, skills, power — and of course confidence — to [manage their care and support] and live the lives they want.’ 1 In the recent editorial on rhetoric and reality in person-centred care Mathers and Paynton provide a persuasive narrative as to why person-centred care (PCC) should be adopted as ‘the norm’ and how the introduction of collaborative care and support planning (CCSP), as a manifestation of this approach, will facilitate its implementation, particularly for people with long-term conditions (LTCs).2 Key to the delivery of both PCC and CCSP, are the four components of the House of Care (HoC): • engaged, informed individuals and carers (left wall); • health and care professionals committed to partnership working (right wall);3 • commissioning including ‘more than medicine’ (floor); and • organisational and supporting processes (roof). This article, the second in a series of four articles considering each of the four components of the HoC model, will address both the enablers and barriers pertinent to individuals and carers being engaged and informed, to enable the delivery of CCSP.