The Single Assessment Process (SAP)
At the moment Health and Adult Social Care assess you for the different types of services they provide. For example, Health may provide you with a wheelchair, and Adult Social Care may provide you with help in the home. In order to get these services, you receive a range of assessments from both organisations.
What is the Single Assessment Process?
Under the Single Assessment Process (SAP) Health and Adult Social Care will work together to understand your needs and gather and share information about you. This means that if you receive a number of services, you won’t have to repeat your personal details every time you apply for a service. We will only share your information if you have given us permission to do so.
How will you benefit?
- You will not have to repeat basic personal details each time you apply for a service, saving you time and effort.
- You will need to complete fewer forms each time you apply for a service.
- You will receive a more thorough assessment because each care provider will know which other services you already receive.
- Better communication between care providers will mean you receive better care all round.
When will the SAP be ready?
The SAP is being rolled out across the UK. In East Sussex we have set up a group to oversee the implementation, which includes senior representatives from Health, Adult Social Care and some voluntary organisations.
Our first step has been to set up a series of pilot teams to test how the SAP will work. The teams taking part in this testing include:
- Firwood House Rehabilitation Centre, Eastbourne
- Newhaven Rehabilitation Centre, Newhaven
- District General Hospital, Eastbourne
- Conquest Hospital, Hastings
- Physical Disability Team, Eastbourne Downs.
How will you notice the difference?
There are four kinds of assessments which will come under the SAP:
- Contact assessments will be completed when you first contact Health or Adult Social Care. At this stage basic personal information is collected and the nature of your problem or need is detailed. This is passed on to staff at the appropriate organisation who will contact you to arrange a more in-depth assessment of your needs, where appropriate.
- Overview assessments will be completed with you (and your carer if you have one) either in person or over the phone, by a representative from Health or Adult Social Care. This provides us with a more detailed picture of your needs. We will ask you for information about your physical well-being, how you can cope at home, any support you are getting from a carer, your psychological well being. From this information we will be able to determine what services would best meet your needs. This may include home care, day care, respite care, meals on wheels or specialised equipment.
- Specialist assessments will be completed from services like nursing and occupational therapy to get more expert help for you, such as physiotherapy or provision of specialised equipment to assist you with your mobility, bathing and other day to day tasks.
- Comprehensive assessments refer to the collection of all other services and will be completed with you in person (and with your carer if you have one), by a representative from Health or Adult Social Care. This will be completed from many specialised areas where you have a range of needs requiring long term care, such as residential care or very intensive home care packages where you need help several times a day.
How can I find out more?
Contact the SAP Project Managers for more information and to see how you can get involved in the project roll out.
Caroline Blackett
Email: caroline.blackett@esbh.nhs.uk
Tel: 01273 403627
Isobel Warren
Email: isobel.warren@esbh.nhs.uk
Tel: 01273 403633
I'm a practitioner – how can I find out more?
These documents are intended for completion by staff from social care and health.
- Single Assessment (SAP) form
You can download the forms that are used by Health and Adult social care professional staff to help them carry out the different types of assessments. These forms are approved by the Department of Health for the use with SAP. The documents belong to a set of tools called FACE (Functional Analysis of the Care Environment). In East Sussex we have set up a Change Control group to adapt these forms to meet our local needs. Each form is available to download and has a version number assigned to it so you can see the latest available. Any comments about these forms need to be sent to the project managers (details above).
- SAP – Review form
This review form is used for unscheduled/scheduled reviews to assess a service user's needs.
- SAP – FACE rapid assessment form
The rapid assessment is designed to provide a well rounded picture of an individual and their needs.
- SAP – FACE Overview assessment form
An overview assessment is completed if a person’s needs are complex or unclear. This assessment gives a general overeview of an older person’s health or social care needs.
- SAP glossary
This document details a collection of terms (based on the Surrey and Hounslow Health and Social Care SAP Glossary) adopted by the East Sussex Process and Policy Group.
- SAP Highlight report
Information about how the Single Assessment process (SAP) is progressing.
