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Care Programme Approach (CPA) assessment

CPA is a way of co-ordinating community health services for people with mental health problems. It means that once you have an assessment detailing your needs, one person will be able to co-ordinate all aspects of your care. For example, this could be your medical and social care and community services available to you. This assessment will be carried out by a care co-ordinator. Care co-ordinators are also sometimes called keyworkers or case managers.

Your assessment may include:

The care plan

The care co-ordinator doing the assessment will write up a care plan that you then sign if you agree with it. You can discuss any changes you would like to make.

The written plan will include:

Your care plan will tell you:

• the name of someone you can contact if you need anything
• which of the services offered by the community mental health team you can use
• who you should see

If you are being discharged from hospital you may have a 'discharge planning meeting'. This is when a CPA assessment and a community care assessment will be carried out at the same time covering both health and social care.

Useful contacts

• Mental health contacts