There is a lot of talk around making care person centered. Most of the contents you will find are around making people independent. Yes, we agree - but - we do not think we have yet truly understood the pain involved in accessing care and therefore we are unable to grasp why person centered care remains illusive.

The process of care is not just about the service being delivered. Yes, that is crucially important, however, we must acknowledge that the value of service, and in our case, the outcome of care and the impact on the life it delivers, are to a very large extent a direct result of how the care is purchased.

When people purchase care, they rely largely on Councils, and may not have a direct say in selecting the provider they want.

For people who purchase care themselves, the challenge is even more complex. The choices they make will have long lasting impact. Are we sure people have the tools at their disposal to really acquire and purchase care according to their own individual needs or requirements ?

While there are many helpful websites, none has the ability to create a commercial outcome for the individual. They all stop short. The advice is useful but its simply not enough. Every penny people spend on their care must have a positive impact on their lives. To achieve them people must have commercial control at the time of purchase.

Taking these into account we have created Care Marketplace - the world’s first and UK’s only commercially enabled website to buy and sell care across all providers in a single easy to use portal. We do not claim to be the expert care providers - we think the market is already crowded - our value and uniqueness stems from our unbiased, open and transparent business model that allows individuals to directly connect with providers, receive offers specific to their individual needs, and thus make commercially informed choices.

We believe we cannot empower individuals without empowering them with digital tools to exercise commercial control over the care purchasing process, and that’s the starting point when we can start to bring person centered care to the next level. It is very much needed.

If you work in NHS or social care then do reach out to us.