FURTHER INFORMATION
Any criteria used for admission to the care home, including the care home's policy and procedures for emergency admissions
On receiving a referral:
Arrange for an assessment either at the potential service users current address, hospital or at the home.
Complete the Assessment form. This should be done before the Service User is admitted.
The assessment should be completed in respect of an emergency admission as soon as is practicable not exceeding 10 days.
Ensure that all required information is collected and forms signed as required. When talking to the Service User we use the following list as a guide to ensure all relevant topics are covered and all relevant information collected.
- Determine how the Service User feels about moving into the home.
- Observe the mental state of the Service User.
- Observe the Service User’s mobility
- Discuss the family.
- Discuss family arrangements.
- Show the Service User the Home’s Brochure and go through it with him/her.
- Suggest a visit to the home.
- All the information must be to hand before a decision is made to offer a place in the home.
- Notify the family, social worker, hospital and/or any other parties involved in the placement.
When the assessment has been completed, arrangement for admission made, ensure that relatives are involved.
Referral
- On receiving a referral, whenever possible the relative and the Service User and his/her relatives should be encouraged to visit the home as a first step in the assessment process.
- A copy of the homes brochure must be given to the prospective Service User as well as an information pack.
- Assessment forms should be completed in as much detail as possible on a visit to the prospective Service User. Information can be obtained from the referer if the future resident lives too far away.
- Cooperation from the Service User, the GP, Hospital must be obtained when producing the Medical checklist.
Making a decision to offer a placement.
The Home is registered to admit elderly service users.
A senior member of the staff team must complete the assessment before a decision is made to offer a place. The medical checklist must be completed with the assistance of the Hospital Clinicians, the GP or relative.
Mangers must bear in mind the categories for which the home is registered to accommodate.
Assessment material must be evaluated in conjunction with the Admissions Criteria Matrix, to determine whether a placement in the home would be appropriate to the Service User’s needs.
Other considerations.
The system is not inflexible and while managers should endeavour not to admit Service User’s who are outside the categories of registration for the home.
Evaluating the information.
It must be appreciated that guidance cannot establish precise criteria against which all applications can be measured. The guidance defines the boundaries within the assessment is to be made.
In assessing whether to home has the ability to care adequately for an individual the headings Mental Ability, Mental Illness, Behaviour and Sociability contain the information that must be considered in this context.
It must be ascertained whether the individual's GP is working to achieve a level of medication which does not act as a restraint, and which is prescribed with the aim of maintaining the health and welfare of the individual to the best effect.
Information regarding the individual’s condition will lead to a decision as to whether he/she needs residential or nursing care. For example an individual, who needs invasive clinical tasks carried out, would be best placed in a Nursing Home with the required registration.
It would not be in the Home’s aims to care for an individual who is presenting physically challenging and aggressive behaviour, which may cause other Residents, Staff or themselves to be in danger. Therefore Westbourne reserves the right to refuse admission or placement to any resident who it feels would be inappropriately placed in the Home, or for whom the Home does not have the required skills, resources or provision.
Emergency Admission of Service Users.
Admissions of an urgent nature are only permitted in instances where the welfare of the individual might be harmed if the admission is delayed. Therefore it is possible to admit a service user without a full assessment being carried out.
In these circumstances as much information as possible must be obtained as soon as possible. The assessment should be completed as soon as possible after admission.
It will be stated in the emergency agreement, that the admission is short term only and that any decision for the placement to become long term would not be made until a full assessment and review had been completed.