Outcomes-focused assessment

About outcomes-focused assessment

Our conversations, assessments and support planning work with individuals and unpaid carers and others aims to identify what care and support they might need, to ensure they are:

• healthy and have a good quality of life
• safe
• independent (as much as possible)
• free from stigma and discrimination
• informed and in control of their support
• able to realise their potential
• socially and geographically connected

When individuals contact NHS Highland seeking advice or support, we will seek to provide a range of information and signpost them to a range of local resources and services that keep people healthy, active and safe.

NHS Highland can also offer an outcomes-focused assessment.  We do this in partnership with individuals and their unpaid carers. This process will focus on the outcomes individuals would like to realise.  The assessment process takes an assets-based approach, which means that a worker from the Integrated Team - often a social worker role - will talk to an individual and focus on their strengths and abilities in order that together they can build on these.  A worker will work together with individuals to look at what they can do independently; what access they have already to care and support at home and in their community; and what they need help with.  Together, the aim will be to agree a set of outcomes that we will work together with people to achieve, exploring the range of care and support that is available.

See Adult Social Work and Social Care - The Role of The Social Worker (pdf - May 2015).

The provision of formal services will be dependent on the outcome of this outcomes-focused assessment process.  A worker from the Integrated Team for the district will also consider individuals' identified needs and outcomes against our eligibility criteria - this determines whether an individual is entitled to services in accordance with local guidance (thresholds).

See North Highland Adult Health and Social Care - Eligibility Criteria (pdf - November 2017).

BSL-signed videos

Videos from Self Directed Support Scotland, hosted on Vimeo.

• What is an assessment?
• What does a good conversation look like?
• What is an Outcome?

Independent support and advocacy

The principles of self-directed support require us to make sure that supported people have enough information to understand what is available, and to make the choices which are right for them. This should include information about where to find independent support to help them choose. It can also mean getting independent support for when the process runs into difficulties.

Community Contacts currently operates in Highland. They are funded by the Scottish Government’s Support in the Right Direction (SiRD) initiative and managed by Carr Gomm. Community Contacts aims to help people to design and manage their own support in a confident and informed manner; all with the re-assurance of knowing that they are there to help them if needed. They do this in partnership with others, including NHS Highland and local community organisations.

See the Community Contacts page on the Carr Gomm website.

Where difficult issues arise throughout our processes, Advocacy Highland also provide one-to-one, issue-based advocacy to individuals aged 16 and over throughout the Highland Council area. They are funded to advocate for people identified under the terms of the Mental Health (Care & Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003, specifically people with mental ill health, learning disabilities, personality disorders, ASD or dementia. Individuals from these groups make up many of those benefitting from an outcomes based assessment.

Visit the Advocacy Highland website - an independent voluntary advocacy organisation.

BSL-signed video

Video from Self Directed Support Scotland, hosted on Vimeo.

• What is Independent Support and how can it work for you?