Single Assessment Process
What is the Single Assessment Process (SAP)?
The SAP involves health and social care organisations working closely together with you to make sure you receive the right care or services at the right time.
It is a new way of providing assessments for adults with health and/or social care needs. With your permission, your assessment information will be shared with other professionals (for example, nurse, social worker, occupational therapist) who will be involved in providing care or services for you.
What does the SAP involve?
Assessment means collecting information about you to help us understand more about your needs and circumstances and identify how these affect your independence, daily living and quality of life. We can then plan appropriate action with you.
Your views and wishes will be a priority and you will be directly involved in the decisions about your care. The assessment will identify not only your needs but also your strengths and abilities.
In the SAP there are different types of assessment, and health and social care staff will ensure you receive the right level and type of assessment to suit you.
How will the Single Assessment Process affect you?
Through the SAP we aim to:
- make sure you only have to give us your personal details once, so that different professionals and organisations do not ask you for the same information
- listen to your views and wishes, making them the central part of the assessment process
- make sure you are given copies of your Care Plan
- ask your consent to share information when it would help us to arrange the right care and services at the right time for you.
Who can carry out your assessments?
The process may be started by you - with or without help from your carer, a relative or a member of staff. In this case staff will always explain the purpose of the assessment before you start to write anything. They will go over with you what you have written before completing the assessment with you and agreeing what should happen next.
Health or social care staff (for example, nurse, social worker, occupational therapist) trained to use the Single Assessment Process will carry out other parts of the SAP with you
