1. What is an Assessment?
An assessment is a process which identifies what support an adult, who has care and support needs and is considering going into a care home for either a short or long stay, could receive from the service. It should be completed before they are admitted to the care home, or very soon afterwards if they had to be admitted quickly as an emergency.
A member of staff, who has been trained to carry out assessments, will complete the assessment form with the adult, and a family member or friend if appropriate. It may also include staff from other agencies who also work with the adult, for example an occupational therapist or district nurse.
It is very important that the adult is at the centre of the process and has every opportunity to say what is important to them about their current circumstances and what they want to achieve from their stay in the care home. This will depend on whether they are having a short stay or long term / permanent.
The member of staff should give information about what the service provides, so the adult and their family or friends are clear about what it can offer.
The assessment is usually carried out to see if the care home is suitable for the adult and make sure that they want to stay. The assessment process also gives the service an opportunity to ask information about the adult, so staff can decide whether the care home can meet the care and support needs of the adult.
The information that is recorded in the assessment form helps to inform the care plan, which states what interventions the adult should receive from staff.
For adults who are resident in the home on a long term basis, assessments should be completed regularly, to see if their care and support needs have changed. For example, if their dementia has got worse and the care home is not able to care for people with advanced dementia.
For adults who come to the care home for short stays, assessments should be done before each visit to see if their needs have changed.
2. What does the Assessment Include?
The assessment should focus on the adult as a person in their own right and consider and what their immediate and longer-term needs are.
It should reflect the adult’s individual needs, their wishes and their cultural background and diversity.
It should identify any risks there may be for the adult receiving care and support at the care home, and say how these will be managed.
The assessment should identify their physical, emotional, social needs and their personal relationships, including activities at the care home they might want to take part in.
It should aim to reduce the risk of their health getting worse by spotting any signs of poor health quickly and making sure they get the right medical support.
The assessment should support the adult to make healthy living choices, for example about exercise, diet and their lifestyle.
Some adults may not be able to fully take part in the assessment, depending on their ‘mental capacity’. They may be able to say what activities they like, what types of food they like to eat and what clothes they like to wear for example, but may need support from a family member, carer or other representative, in more complicated areas that the assessment has to cover.
A copy of the assessment will be kept in the adult’s care records.
