Quality standard
Quality statement 1: Including physical and mental health needs in a care and support needs assessment
Quality statement 1: Including physical and mental health needs in a care and support needs assessment
Quality statement
Older people with multiple long-term conditions having a care and support needs assessment have their physical and mental health needs included.
Rationale
Older people with multiple long-term conditions are likely to have complex needs. Having the opportunity to discuss physical and mental health needs when having a care and support needs assessment will ensure that all their health and social care needs are identified and will enable them to access the support they need to improve their quality of life and maintain their independence. Taking into account the person's strengths, needs and preferences, the assessment will enable health and social care practitioners to work together to meet the person's needs.
Quality measures
The following measures can be used to assess the quality of care or service provision specified in the statement. They are examples of how the statement can be measured, and can be adapted and used flexibly.
Structure
Evidence of a locally coordinated approach to ensure that older people with multiple long-term conditions having a care and support needs assessment have their physical and mental health needs included.
Data source: Local data collection.
Process
Proportion of care and support needs assessments for older people with multiple long-term conditions that include physical and mental health needs.
Numerator – the number in the denominator that include physical and mental health needs.
Denominator – the number of care and support needs assessments for older people with multiple long-term conditions.
Data source: Local data collection.
What the quality statement means for different audiences
Service providers (such as local authorities, general practices, and community care providers) ensure that arrangements are in place for relevant health and social care practitioners to contribute to care and support needs assessments for older people with multiple long-term conditions, and that the assessment includes the person's physical and mental health needs.
Health and social care practitioners (such as social workers, occupational therapists, GPs, geriatricians, district nurses and mental health nurses) contribute to care and support needs assessments for older people with multiple long-term conditions, ensuring that their physical and mental health needs are included.
Commissioners (such as local authorities and NHS England) ensure that systems are in place for providers to work together so that physical and mental health needs are included when care and support needs assessments are carried out for older people with multiple long-term conditions.
Older people with more than 1 long-term condition have their physical and mental health needs included when they have a care and support needs assessment. This will help them and their carers (if appropriate) to think about what they can manage for themselves and what they need help with in their day-to-day life.
Source guidance
Older people with social care needs and multiple long-term conditions. NICE guideline NG22 (2015), recommendation 1.1.3
Definitions of terms used in this quality statement
Multiple long-term conditions
A long-term condition is defined as one that generally lasts a year or longer and impacts on a person's life. Examples include arthritis, asthma, cancer, dementia, diabetes, heart disease, mental health conditions, stroke, and hearing and sight loss. Multiple means a person has more than 1 condition. The impact and symptoms of these conditions can fluctuate, and people may or may not need to take medicines for their conditions. [NICE's guideline on older people with social care needs and multiple long-term conditions]
Care and support needs assessment
The process by which a local authority works with a person to identify their needs and the outcomes they would like to achieve to maintain or improve their wellbeing. The local authority's aim is to determine how it should respond to meet the person's needs under the Care Act 2014. It may also be known as a social care needs assessment. [NICE's guideline on older people with social care needs and multiple long-term conditions and expert opinion]
Equality and diversity considerations
People with communication difficulties, or hearing or sight loss should be offered support to enable them to be involved in their care and support needs assessment.
People with limited independence as a result of a physical disability or mental health condition may need additional support, such as an advocate, to enable them to be involved in their care and support needs assessment.