SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER

All new enquiries will be addressed under this procedure. Enquiries from people already known to adult social care will be addressed by either the Long Term Support Team or by other teams such as Occupational Therapy or Sensory Impairment as appropriate. Some new enquiries will be addressed by providing advice and information while others will become an Initial Contact.

An initial contact is the start of the assessment process, and prompts the gathering of appropriate information in order to begin to identify the person’s needs so that decisions can be made regarding any further action.

An enquiry can come from the person themselves, a relative or friend, a member of the public or by another agency or professional.

1. Principles

The majority of enquiries about social care support for adults are dealt with by Advice and Information Coordinators who will:

  • Provide advice and information on how to prevent, reduce or delay the development of needs, about services, including universal and community services, eligibility criteria and how the system works including processes and the support available to make sure people have as much control over those processes as possible;
  • Clarify whether the person is already in receipt of local authority funded support;
  • Redirect people where their enquiry relates to another agency;
  • Offer self assessment or supported self assessment;
  • Determine the person’s needs in broad terms through the use of an initial screening tool;
  • Determine whether they would benefit from an assessment carried out by a worker;
  • Determine the level of urgency for support;
  • Determine whether there are carers who may need support;
  • Highlight the potential requirement for a financial contribution for services;
  • Ensure where appropriate that the initial contact is referred to the right team.

They will liaise with other City Council teams and departments where necessary in order to reduce duplication and avoid the person having to give the same information repeatedly.

2. Procedural Steps

Step Action By Whom
1. Enquiries coming via 300300 or at Customer Service Centres will first be checked against the criteria published on the A-Z for forwarding to an Advice and Information Coordinator. This includes checking that the person is a resident of Hull. Customer Service Advisor
2. If the caller is referring someone else, you must be satisfied that either:
  • The person being referred has given consent or
  • The person is unlikely to have capacity to consent and it is likely to be in their best interest to be assessed. This view should be checked out by contacting other close family members, the person’s GP or by asking a member of the Reablement Team or Out of Hours Team to do an assessment of capacity.

The full assessment of capacity and best interest will be made at the beginning of any assessment undertaken.

Advice and Information Co-ordinator
3. Advice and information should be first service offered. People contacting the city council should be encouraged to make best use of the information and advice available to help them to prevent, reduce or delay the development of further needs and to meet as many of their existing needs as possible prior to assessment. Advice and Information Co-ordinator
4. A check should be made on Liquidlogic to see if the person is already known:
  • If they are open to a Long Term Support Team, the Occupational Therapy Team or the Reablement Team and their enquiry relates to a service provided by that team, a note should be made on Liquidlogic of their enquiry and it should be passed to the team;
  • If they are open to the Occupational Therapy Team but want an assessment of their need for social care support, their enquiry should be treated as a new Initial Contact;
  • If they are open to Reablement or a Long Term Support Team, but want Occupational Therapy services, the enquiry should be treated as a new Initial Contact to Occupational Therapy. Provide the number for the Occupational Therapy. Take initial contact details and inform the person that a member of the OT service will contact them to progress their enquiry, then contact the duty officer and ask them to contact the person.
Advice and Information Co-ordinator
5. Basic information should be gathered to inform a decision about whether:
  • The enquiry can be satisfied by provision of advice only;
  • The enquiry is in relation to another agency and should be redirected there;
  • The enquiry may need to be progressed to an Initial;
  • Contact by completion of a screening tool. When completing the screening tool, a brief explanation should be given about self assessment, supported self assessment and the worker led assessment process, including the need for a financial assessment and the potential for a charge for services to be made.

In all but exceptional cases, a record should be made of all enquiries and contacts.

Advice and Information Co-ordinator
6. If the enquiry shows someone may be at high risk of harm due to their level of need, it should be progressed as an urgent referral. It should be assigned to either the Reablement or Out of Hours Service on Liquidlogic but an immediate telephone call should be made to the team to alert them to the referral. Advice and Information Co-ordinator
7. If the enquiry raises concerns about the possible abuse or neglect of a vulnerable adult or a child, a referral must be made to the relevant safeguarding team. The consent of the referrer is not necessary for this, although they must be informed that the referral is being made. Advice and Information Co-ordinator
8. If the enquiry identifies needs which require the input of other Hull City Council services, e.g. welfare rights or housing, contact should be made with those departments on the person’s behalf and information shared as appropriate. Advice and Information Co-ordinator
9. If support with communication or advocacy is required to enable full participation in the referral or assessment process, this should be secured. Advice and Information Co-ordinator
10. The initial contact should be directed to the appropriate team:
  • If a formal assessment of need is required, the initial contact should be reassigned to the in-box at the Reablement Team;
  • If an Occupational Therapy assessment is required, the Initial Contact should be reassigned to Occupational Therapy;
  • If both are required, the Initial Contact should be reassigned to the Reablement inbox with a message to Occupational Therapy to alert them to the Contact.
Advice and Information Co-ordinator
11. If the person makes further contact to progress chase the referral, advise them of the date the referral was sent to the team and provide the telephone number of the team so they can make contact directly. Advice and Information Co-ordinator
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