What is the care process?
The care process is a way of working in steps. It helps a care worker give care that fits one person, not a standard routine for everybody.
The steps repeat in a circle, so it is called a loop or cycle: gather information, assess, find life issues and set goals, make a plan, carry it out, evaluate, then start again with what you learned.
Why use it? It stops guessing. It keeps the person at the centre. It lets a whole team see the same plan.
Information gathering and assessment
Gathering information means finding facts about the person. Look at the body (walking, eating, sleeping), the mind (mood, memory), the home (stairs, bathroom), people around (family, neighbours) and, most important, what the person wants and likes.
Where do facts come from? From watching, from talking with the person, from family, from records and from other team members.
Assessment means making sense of the facts. Ask three questions: What can the person do? What is difficult and why? What is the person hoping for? Look for causes, not just signs. "Does not eat" may be caused by sore teeth, sadness or a table that is too high.
Life issues and goal setting
A life issue (also called a life need or care need) is something in daily life that is hard and needs support, for example "cannot reach the toilet in time" or "feels lonely in the afternoon".
A goal says what better will look like. Good goals are:
- The person's own: it is what they want.
- Clear: you can tell if it has happened.
- Possible: not too big.
- With a time: "in one month".
A long-term goal is the big hope (for example, "walk to the temple again"). Short-term goals are small steps to reach it (for example, "walk 10 steps with a frame by next week").
Drafting care plans
A care plan is a written promise of what will be done. It answers: What will we do? Who does it? How? When and how often? What care must be taken (safety)?
Tips: write in simple words, name the person's own part ("Mrs. Devi sits on the stool by herself"), use the person's strengths, share it with the person, family and the team, and ask the person to agree.
Implementing and evaluating care plans
Implementing means doing the plan exactly as written, safely and with respect, and writing a short record of what happened and how the person reacted.
Evaluating means checking if the goal came closer. Compare with the starting point. Ask the person how they feel. Then decide: goal reached (set a new one), going well (carry on), or not working (change the plan and ask why). Then the loop starts again.
Try it: care process for a simple problem
Choose a family member or friend who finds one thing hard (for example, climbing stairs). Ask three questions, write one goal with a time, and a three-line plan. Check after one week and write what you would change. Always ask permission and keep what you learn private.
Key formulas and definitions
- Care process = Gather + Assess + Goal + Plan + Do + Evaluate, then repeat
- Good goal = the person's wish + clear + possible + with a time
- Care plan = What + Who + How + When + Safety
- Evaluate = Compare with the starting point, then keep, change or finish
Worked examples
1. A man will not eat lunch. Give one fact to gather and one possible cause.
Fact: he eats only a few spoons and rubs his jaw. Possible cause: a painful tooth. Assessment looks for the cause before choosing a plan.
2. Turn this into a goal: "Granny is lonely."
Life issue: lonely in the afternoons. Goal: "Granny chats with a friend or neighbour at least three afternoons a week within one month."
3. Write a short care plan line for the goal "walk 10 steps with a frame by next week".
What: walking practice with the frame. Who: care worker beside her. How: she holds the frame, worker walks on her weaker side. When: after breakfast, daily. Safety: shoes on, clear floor.
4. After two weeks the person walks 10 steps easily. What now?
Evaluate: the short-term goal is reached. Set a new goal (for example 30 steps) and update the plan. The loop continues.
Common mistakes
- Writing the plan before gathering facts.
- Setting the goal for the care worker's convenience instead of the person's wish.
- Goals with no clear sign or time, such as "be better".
- Never evaluating, so the plan stays the same even when it does not work.