Trusted Assessor Scheme

What is it and how does it work?

Care Provider Trusted Assessor Scheme

The Scheme is a collaborative enterprise between the RCPA, care providers, Somerset County Council and local acute hospitals of Musgrove Park and Yeovil. The scheme forms part of a framework of services in Somerset designed to improve and enhance the pathway into and out of hospital for people in receipt of care and support.

How does it help?

Drawing on successful models from other areas, the scheme seeks to support the patient discharge process by working on behalf of care providers in conducting discharge assessments and making recommendations to them in relation to hospital discharge decisions. Historically in Somerset, care providers have conducted their own assessments of individuals in the hospital setting, prior to a home discharge being made and implemented.

The requirements

An assessment requires adequate time and effective dialogue between the individual, the care provider and the hospital team. The Trusted Assessor role is to provide the necessary additional resources to support the care provider in conducting a timely and thorough person-centered assessment that meets the needs of both the individual and the care provider. The scheme builds positive relationships with care providers to ensure sufficient levels of trust in the assessment recommendations being made by the Assessors working in the scheme. For this reason, the scheme is hosted by the RCPA, the local care provider association for Somerset.

Pilot Phase

The scheme is in a 12-month pilot phase, during which it will be evaluated against a range of objectives. Informed by such principles as person-centred care, provider needs and effective joint-working, these objectives have been established collaboratively with stakeholders in the first stage of the evaluations process. The pilot phase is focussing on working with care homes and assessing existing residents of these homes in relation to their discharge from hospital. Learning from the evaluation phase will inform the replication of the scheme across the wider provider sector and across Somerset. Steering Group is overseeing the development and implementation of the scheme and consists of Somerset County Council, RCPA and provider representatives.

For further information, contact;

Simon Blackburn, RCPA simon.blackburn@rcpa.org.uk