The Department for Health has issued Common Core Principles to health and social care staff who support people to live independently, stay healthy and make the most of their lives by managing their conditions. Employers and managers are urged to ensure that the Principles are put into practice so that service users can get the most out of their care.

The principles are designed to move the focus of care on to the user and to challenge current culture and practices. They include ensuring individuals are able to make informed choices to manage their self care needs, communicating effectively so that individuals are able to assess their needs, enabling individuals to access appropriate information to manage their selfcare and supporting them to develop skills in self care. There is also guidance on enabling individuals to use technology to support self care and on accessing support networks and getting involved in developing and evaluating services.

Ann Keen, Minister for Health Services, said: “The vision is of people who use services, empowered with advice, support and information, having choice about the services they want, being able to take more responsibility for their health and their lives and a more active role in managing their own care if this is what they want. The Common Core Principles to Support Self Care provide a vital building block in realising the vision.”