Growing numbers of people now live with long term conditions. For each person, the challenges are multiple and unique to that individual. In recognition of this, health policy places greater emphasis on the delivery of person-centred care (PCC). However, patients report declining levels of such care. One reason for this may be a mismatch between patient and professional/policy understanding of PCC. PCC does not depend on the efforts of the clinician alone, but results from a collaboration with the patient and needs to be enabled by the wider organisational and educational systems.