What is a One-Page Profile in Person-Centred Care?

A one-page profile is a concise, person-led summary that helps people understand who someone is, what matters to them and how to support them well. It usually records what others appreciate about the person, what is important to them and practical guidance on providing support. Wherever possible, it reflects the person’s own words and preferred way of communicating.

The Social Care Institute for Excellence describes one-page profiles as a tool for placing people’s needs and preferences at the centre of care and improving communication between people receiving and providing support. A profile is a starting point for respectful relationships and consistent everyday support. It is not a replacement for the full care plan, current risk information, clinical instructions or a direct conversation with the person.

One-page profiles can be used in different parts of health, social care and education. The regulatory references in this article are England-specific. For regulated services in England, Care Quality Commission Regulation 9 requires care and treatment to be appropriate, meet the person’s needs and reflect their preferences. A well-used profile can help staff put these principles into everyday practice, but the profile alone does not demonstrate that all regulatory requirements have been met.

What does a one-page profile record?

Most versions use three main areas:

what people appreciate about the person;
what matters most to the person;
how best to support the person.

The wording and format can be adapted. Some people may prefer pictures, symbols, audio, Easy Read information or another accessible format rather than a text-heavy page.

What people appreciate about the person

This section describes the person’s positive qualities, strengths, contributions and valued roles. It helps staff meet a person rather than a list of tasks, needs or diagnoses.

Useful entries are specific and respectful. They might explain that the person:

notices when someone else needs encouragement;
has a dry sense of humour;
enjoys teaching others about gardening;
takes pride in being a parent, neighbour or colleague;
remembers important occasions;
is determined when learning something new.

General comments such as “lovely” or “always happy” provide little practical understanding and may not reflect how the person sees themselves. Avoid praise that sounds childish or patronising.

The person should be asked what they appreciate about themselves and who, if anyone, they would like to contribute. Family members, friends and staff may notice valuable qualities, but their views should not replace the person’s voice.

Starting with appreciation is not an optional decoration. It affects how workers interpret the rest of the profile. A worker who knows that someone takes pride in making their own decisions is more likely to offer time and meaningful choices rather than completing tasks for them.

What matters most to the person

This section records the people, relationships, routines, identities, interests, possessions, places and aspirations that make daily life meaningful.

It may include:

how the person likes to start or end their day;
who they want to remain in contact with;
cultural, spiritual or religious practices;
hobbies, work, volunteering or community roles;
privacy and personal-space preferences;
preferred food, clothing, music or activities;
goals the person is working towards;
how they prefer people to speak with them.

The important question is not simply, “What do staff need to do?” It is, “What makes a good life and a good day for this person?”

A common misunderstanding is to replace what matters to the person with what other people believe is good for them. “I like to have tea quietly before I talk in the morning” describes something that matters to the person. Detailed instructions about treatment, medicines, nutrition or assessed risks may be important for safe care, but they belong in the relevant care or clinical record rather than being squeezed into a short personal profile.

SCIE’s guidance on person-centred care planning emphasises seeing the person in the full context of their life and supporting them to express their choices, goals and preferred routines.

How best to support the person

This section turns understanding into practical action. The guidance should be positive, specific and clear enough for a worker to use.

For example:

“Introduce yourself and explain why you are here.”
“Ask one question at a time and give me time to answer.”
“Offer two clearly explained choices rather than an open-ended list.”
“Place the items where I can see them, then let me complete as much of the task as I can.”
“Tell me before changing the usual order of my morning routine.”
“Speak directly to me, even when someone else is helping me communicate.”

Avoid vague or judgemental descriptions such as “can be difficult”, “refuses care” or “does not cooperate”. These labels do not explain what happened, what the person was communicating or what support may work better.

Communication guidance should reflect the individual rather than assumptions about age, disability or diagnosis. SCIE advises that people should have enough time and appropriate support to communicate their needs and preferences, including alternative methods where required.

How should the person’s voice be included?

A one-page profile should sound recognisably like the person it describes. First-person wording can help, provided it genuinely represents what the person has said or communicated.

The person might create the profile independently or be supported through conversation, pictures, communication aids, observation over time or contributions from people they trust. Support should be adapted to the person’s communication needs.

Where other people contribute, it should remain clear which information came directly from the person and which is an observation or opinion. Do not turn an assumption into a quotation. For example, write “Staff have noticed that a quieter room appears to help Alex concentrate” rather than falsely presenting “I always need a quiet room” as Alex’s own statement.

Families and friends can provide valuable knowledge, particularly when they know the person well. Their involvement should follow the person’s wishes, applicable decision-making arrangements and organisational procedures. The purpose is to understand and support the person, not to let other people speak over them.

How staff can use the profile every day

A profile is useful only when it influences how people provide support. It should be available to workers who need it through the organisation’s approved record system.

Before or during support, staff can use it to:

prepare for an introduction or first visit;
understand how the person prefers to communicate;
recognise routines and relationships that matter;
provide support in an agreed, consistent way;
start a conversation rather than relying on assumptions;
notice when information may have changed.

A worker should still ask what the person wants at the time. A recorded preference is not an instruction to ignore a current choice. Someone who usually likes a morning walk may choose not to go today.

A practical approach is:

Read the current profile alongside any relevant handover and care information.
Introduce yourself and check what the person wants now.
Use the agreed support approaches within your role.
Notice what works, what does not and what the person tells you.
Report or record meaningful changes through the correct process.

Skills for Care’s person-centred care resources explain that staff need to understand the people they support, including their history, interests and aspirations, and that care planning should continue to evolve.

For broader examples of how person-centred principles may look in different settings, see Care Learning’s examples of person-centred care.

What a one-page profile does not replace

The profile, care plan and direct conversation serve different purposes.

Resource or action	Main purpose	Important boundary
One-page profile	Provides an accessible introduction to the person, what matters to them and helpful everyday support approaches	Does not contain every assessed need, risk, responsibility or clinical instruction
Care and support plan and related records	Records assessed needs, agreed outcomes, detailed actions, responsibilities, risk management and relevant professional instructions	Should still be understood and applied in a person-centred way
Direct conversation with the person	Establishes what the person wants, prefers or agrees to in the present situation	Cannot be replaced by a preference recorded at an earlier date

For services regulated by the CQC in England, plans should be developed with the person, made available to relevant staff and reviewed so that goals, needs and preferences remain current. Staff must also be kept informed of changes.

Non-example: “Has dementia, can be challenging and needs help with everything.”

This is diagnosis-led, vague and deficit-focused. It tells a worker nothing about the person’s relationships, strengths, communication or preferred support. It may also discourage workers from offering opportunities for choice and independence.

Hypothetical example: connecting appreciation with review

Mina’s profile includes:

What people appreciate about me: “People say I am patient when I teach them card games and that I notice when someone is being left out.”
What matters to me: “I like quiet time with tea before I talk in the morning. Choosing my clothes matters to me. I want to keep going to my local games group.”
How best to support me: “Tell me your name, ask one question at a time and give me time to answer. Show me two clothing options where I can see them. Please do not finish my sentences.”

A new worker can use this information to approach Mina respectfully. They can introduce themselves, avoid rushing the morning conversation and offer clothing choices without taking over.

Several months later, Mina begins welcoming new members at the games group. During a review, she says she is proud of this role. Adding it to the appreciation section shows colleagues how Mina continues to contribute to other people’s lives.

This illustrates why appreciation and review belong together. A profile should not freeze someone at the point when it was first written. Reviewing it means noticing new skills, relationships, roles and achievements as well as changes in support needs. It also gives the person an opportunity to remove wording that no longer feels accurate or respectful.

How to review and keep the profile current

Follow the organisation’s agreed review process and update the profile whenever relevant information changes. Useful review triggers include:

the person asks for something to be changed;
routines, relationships or goals change;
the person moves or begins using a new service;
communication preferences or support approaches change;
staff repeatedly receive corrections from the person;
an approach is no longer working;
the profile contains an outdated assumption or description.

A review should involve the person in an accessible way. Check each part rather than changing the document silently because of one worker’s observation.

A short review checklist is:

Does the profile still reflect the person’s own view?
Do the appreciation statements feel specific, adult and respectful?
What matters to the person now?
Are the support instructions clear and working?
Is any information irrelevant, excessive or duplicated elsewhere?
Is the date and approved version clear?
Have relevant staff been told about the change?

CQC guidance for England states that assessments and plans should be reviewed regularly and whenever needed, and that workers providing care must be kept up to date with changes in needs and preferences.

Protecting the person’s information

A one-page profile contains personal information and may include sensitive details. It should be stored, accessed and shared through approved organisational arrangements rather than displayed or circulated simply because it is convenient.

Include enough information for the profile’s purpose, but not unnecessary medical history, family detail or private information. The Information Commissioner’s Office guidance on data minimisation says personal information should be adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary. Its accuracy guidance also requires appropriate processes for checking information and keeping it up to date where necessary.

Health information is treated as special category data and needs additional protection. Organisations should follow their data-protection, confidentiality, records and access-control procedures and obtain advice from their information-governance or data-protection lead where needed.

Key takeaways

A one-page profile:

introduces the person through their strengths, priorities and preferred support;
should reflect the person’s own words and communication wherever possible;
helps staff translate person-centred values into everyday actions;
supports, but does not replace, care plans, risk information or direct conversation;
must be reviewed as the person’s life, views and circumstances change;
should contain only relevant information and be handled through approved record systems.