Common Assessment Framework for Adults
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Common Assessment Framework for Adults
CAF demonstrator sites
23 March 2010: New pilot sites for the Common Assessment Framework for Adults are announced
Additional demonstrator sites to develop and test improved information sharing across health, social care and wider community support services were announced by Care Services Minister Phil Hope.
The three new local authority led partnerships, and the extension of an existing project have been chosen to expand the programme into new areas of care and cover additional groups of people that will both inform local developments and further the evidence available to the national evaluation. These will include health and criminal justice, further links to the acute sector, the expansion of the CAF messaging set to cover hospital discharge and continuing healthcare assessments, and the expansion of CAF principles along the customer journey from prevention and customer access, through reablement, assessment and support planning, to the delivery of services.
The four partnerships comprising phase 2 of the Common Assessment Framework for Adults (CAF) Demonstrator Site Programme - Cheshire East, Isle of Wight, Southampton-led consortium (including Hampshire and Portsmouth), and Warwickshire - have been through a rigorous selection process following an initial expression of interest from 27 potential sites. They are led by the local adult social services and involve a range of community and acute health services, housing support services and IT suppliers as well as wider partners in the voluntary independent and private sectors.
Care Services Minister Phil Hope said:
"As well as being more convenient for patients, we know that having patient data to hand at the right time can mean faster treatment and a better service for patients. Patient information should be shared among the right agencies in an efficient, secure and confidential way. These demonstrator sites will help us to do this."
Projects will run to March 2012 and be the subject of a national evaluation. Emerging learning from the work of both the phase 1 and phase 2 demonstrator sites is published on the CAF Learning Network:
- Common Assessment Framework (CAF) for Adults Learning Network (opens new window)
- 30 July 2009: Call for expressions of interest in piloting the Common Assessment Framework for Adults - Phase 2
- 20 May 2009: overview of the Phase 1 sites
- Call for expressions of interest (August 2008) in piloting the Common Assessment Framework for Adults - Phase 1
Common Assessment Framework for Adults - a consultation on proposals to improve information sharing around multi-disciplinary assessment and care planning.
Published: 22 January 2009
The Department launched a consultation on improving the quality and efficiency of care and support through improvements in the sharing and use of information on 22 January 2009. The consultation focused on care and support for adults and on assisting the continued development of personalisation by helping people to choose services better suited to their needs. The consultation, which closed on 17 April 2009, was of interest to the general public, commissioners of health, social care and wider community support services, the voluntary and independent sectors.
Full details of the consultation documents and how to receive a report of the consultation are at:
Social Care Personal Demographics Service Early Adopters (SCPEA) project
Four sites - Cheshire, Greenwich, Torbay and Slough and the Newham Whole System Demonstrator - are currently taking their assessment information systems through the NHS Connecting for Health (CFH) Common Assurance Process. The assurance process will provide the necessary foundation for further integration between NHS and social services information systems and provide learning for CAF demonstrator sites, IT suppliers, and NHS CFH management systems.
IT Infrastructure Capital Grant - allocation
Capital funding of £48 million will be paid over three years from 2008/09 to 2010/11 to support local authorities to continue to develop their IT infrastructure to support effective information sharing between health and social services.
Local authority circular (DH) (2008)6, published on 21 August 2008, set out awards to individual authorities and the detailed expectation that they direct their allocation of the capital grant to support their wider local plans on information sharing.
