Sharing decision-making

Care homes can function as true communities if everyone's contribution is recognised and valued.

All residents (including those with cognitive impairment), their families and staff members need to have the opportunity to be involved in the decisions that affect them, to the extent that they wish to be involved.

Methods for disseminating information to all members of the care home community, such as a regular newsletter, have the potential to ensure that everyone feels involved and creates ownership of identified problems and solutions.

'There is a lot of experience among us [residents] but the skills we have developed in our lives are completely wasted... There are a lot of things that residents could share if given an opportunity.'

Decisions to influence change

Feeding the views of residents and relatives into a change process should be a priority, and establishing a group for residents, relatives and staff should be encouraged.

Ongoing shared decision-making through negotiation

Some decisions, such as the fine balance between rights and risks, need to be continually re-assessed and negotiated between residents, relatives and staff to maintain quality of life.

Resources on this theme

Issue 4 Care Home Staff Bulletin: Sharing decision-making (PDF, 974k)
Sharing decision-making poster (PDF, 404k)

Sharing decision-making (PDF, 77k)

This document contains a short summary of a research review undertaken as part of the My Home Life programme. The full literature review, including research references, further tools and examples of 'best practice', is available in Resources.