NQSW resource - Outcome statement 3: Referral
Referral: Key resources
Take some time now to explore our list of key resources and websites that may be of use in helping you think about professional development and accountability. These have been selected based on the criteria outlined in About this resource.
See also the full List of policy and legislation relevant to all outcome statements (PDF file).
These have been organised into:
Essential resourcesOpen
- Common core principles to support self-care (Skills for Care)
- Law and social work: experts by experience (SCIE)
- Prioritising need in the context of Putting people first: a whole system approach to eligibility for social care - guidance on eligibility criteria for adult social care for England 2010 (Department of Health)
You can find further resources on this topic on SCIE's Social Care Online, where you can also sign-up for an Athens password to access a range of full text articles and books.
Click on the title to see more information.
SCIE resources
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Assessing the mental health needs of older people: the assessment process – getting the basics right (Guide, 2010)Open
Assessing the mental health needs of older people requires the same skills as any other assessment, and is based on the same principles of a person-centred approach and the individual's right to high standards of assessment and services. People with mental health needs may be more vulnerable, more anxious and more confused, and may have a history of being dismissed as mentally ill. You can help by adopting the same approach as you would for anyone else, by being open, honest, respectful and empathetic. The Single Assessment Process (SAP) is the means by which health and social care organisations work together to ensure that assessment and subsequent care planning for older people are person-centred, effective and coordinated. This guide offers a series of questions for you to think about when assessing the mental health needs of older people. They are questions that can be usefully applied to any referral.
Link: Assessing the mental health needs of older people: the assessment process – getting the basics right
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Communication skills: providing information and explaining (e-learning, 2008)Open
This e-learning resource uses case studies to help you think about the referral process and what your role as a social worker requires. It explores:
- planning and preparation so that you are clear about what you are doing, why and how
- sensitivity towards the person's expectations and concerns so that you can negotiate a shared agenda
- accurate identification of the person's information needs
- a way of explaining that helps the person understand the information they need.
Link: Communication skills e-learning resource: providing information and explaining
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Dignity in care networkOpen
Numerous resources are now available through this website, ranging from toolkits to the Good Practice Framework. Staff at all levels from frontline workers to commissioners and performance managers can play their part to helping ensure dignity in care services. The link provides you with 10 ways staff can take action to promote dignity in care.
It also gives you access to the range of topics and resources, including the Good Practice Framework. This contains ideas that improve dignity that other people have already implemented. The Framework helps you to audit your own practice and share your work through publication on the website.
Link: Dignity in care network
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Fair access to care services (FACS) (e-learning, 2010)Open
In addition to the Facts about FACS guide, these e-learning materials give you an opportunity to think more about referrals and the implications for practice. The first contact with adults using or seeking social care support, or with their relatives or carers, is recognised as critical to establishing an effective relationship within which staff and the individual, family and/or carer can explore and begin to identify needs and agree appropriate outcomes.
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Law and social work: social work intervention (e-learning, 2009)Open
In this e-learning resource, you are asked to work through a case study considering the different points for intervention - initial referral and screening, assessment and care planning, and review and assessment. Two case studies are presented for you to work through.
This resource will help to make you aware of:
- the legal rules that create the framework for social work intervention
- the different points of intervention – initial referral and screening assessment and care planning, and review and assessment.
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Law and social work: experts by experience (e-learning, 2009)Open
This e-learning resource contains audio-visual material from service users and their carers. They have direct experience of how social workers have used their legal powers and duties and are able to identify the impact of statutory authority on them and their families and articulate what they have found valuable or less helpful when social workers have intervened in their lives.
Other resources
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Carers at the heart of 21st century families and communities: a caring system on your side, a life of your own (HM Government, 2008)Open
This strategy sets out government plans to build on the progress made by the carer’s strategy, Caring for Carers, published in 1999. The vision is that by 2018, carers will be universally recognised and valued as being fundamental to strong families and stable communities. Support will be tailored to meet individuals’ needs, enabling carers to maintain a balance between their caring responsibilities and a life outside caring, while enabling the person they support to be a full and equal citizen.
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Independent Safeguarding Authority referral guidance (ISA, 2009)Open
This guidance is for use when considering or making a referral if there is harm or risk of harm to children or vulnerable adults, relevant conduct has occurred or an individual has received a caution or conviction for a relevant offence. This guidance is to help employers, personnel suppliers, volunteer coordinators and other bodies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to:
- understand their duties to refer information to the ISA
- understand ISA referral policies and processes
- complete the ISA referral form.
The document outlines the referral policy, referral procedures, defines key terms and provides information about completing the ISA referral form.
Link: Independent Safeguarding Authority referral guidance (PDF)
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Paying for care and support at home (Age UK, 2010)Open
This Age UK fact sheet explains what assistance may be available to people to help them meet the cost of any care required to enable them to stay in their own home. It is aimed at people aged 60 and over.
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The protection of vulnerable adults list: an investigation of referral patterns and approaches to decision-making: summary report (Stevens, 2008) Open
This research explores the factors leading to placement on the protection of vulnerable adults list, which helps to safeguard vulnerable adults in care.
