About Me / Personal Profile Form

What is an About Me or one page profile?

An About Me form, often called a one page profile, records who a person is in their own words: what matters to them, how they like their day to go and how staff can tell when something is wrong. New staff read it before they meet the person, so care starts from the person and not from a list of tasks. Regulation 9 says care must reflect a person's needs and preferences, and this is where those preferences are written down.

This About Me template runs longer than a single page because it also covers food, communication, personal care and culture. Pick out the parts that matter most if you want a one-page summary for the front of a care file.

What it asks

The questions are written to the person, in first person and in short sentences:

• my details and the people who matter to me

• what makes me happy, sad, safe and unsafe, and my hopes and goals

• my day, from how I like to start it to how I like to sleep

• food and drink, including food I must not have and food rules for my faith or culture

• talking with me: how you know I am in pain or upset, and what helps

• how I like to get information, such as large print, easy read, braille, audio or sign language

• my health, my personal care and who I want to help me

• my beliefs, special days, my home, my precious things and my pets

How to fill it in

Sit down with the person and go at their pace. They can fill it in themselves or with someone they trust, and they answer only what they want to. Use their words, not a summary of them. Share the profile only with the care team, and set a date to look at it again.

The profile does not replace a care plan or a capacity assessment. It sits alongside the Care Plan Template (Supported Living) and the Assessment of Needs Form, and the person's agreement to care is recorded on the Consent to Care and Treatment Form.