Up until the 1980's the preferred method of delivering health care was called "Task orientated care". Care workers would deliver care by carrying out a set of specified tasks during their working day - for example a carer in a care home might have had on their task list checking all patients were washed and fed, checking medication, checking everyone had been given the opportunity to go to the toilet in the morning etc. The medical care of patients was largely the responsibility of the highest qualified medical professionals with all decisions being made by them.
In more recent times task orientated care has been criticised for being impersonal and insensitive to the needs and wishes of clients. Today in stead of task orientation we have a strong emphasis on individualised care with each patient having their own individualised care plan. Although this is certainly more time consuming than a task orientated approach it is arguably more effective as it takes into account the needs and wishes of the patient him or herself.
In order to establish a care plan for a patient care workers must work through what is down as the care planning cycle. The stages in this are - Assessing needs - this is done through observations by care workers and professionals, discussions with client family and friends, reference to medical notes and earlier history, and through conversations with the individual patient.
- Care Planning - where a detailed, time bound care plan is established for the patient. There will be specific objectives within the care plan and clear guidelines as to what interventions are required and by whom
- Implementation/Intervention - which involves the actual delivery of the care plan and the monitoring of what effect the care plan is having on the patient.
- Evaluation of the care plan - where a care professional responsible or the team responsible evaluate whether the care objectives have been met or not
After this point the care planning cycle begins again.