Adult Social Care
Practice Guide
What Matters to people Quick guidance on positive risk taking for social care practitioners Positive risk taking involves weighing up the potential benefits and harms of exercising one’s choice of action over another. When working with adults who have care and support needs it is important to iden…
Identifying risk When discussing positive risk taking the level and type of risk will need to be evaluated because not every situation or activity involves a risk that needs to be assessed or managed. Risks can vary in degree and can therefore be of no greater risk to the adult than it would be f…
Positive risk taking and mental capacity The person at risk must remain at the centre of all decision making, as the person is considered best placed to identify risks, the impact and what actions to take to potentially reduce the seriousness and/or severity of the risk. However, there may be ins…
Risk management Effective risk management strategies provide actions and put mechanisms in place against each identified risk. Contingency is essential in managing risk including the warning signs that the risk presented has become so high, that they trigger a review because the existing manageme…
Risk management plan A risk management plan should focus on managing the identified risks and where appropriate put in place safeguarding measures, which include but are not limited to: w hat immediate action must be taken w ho else needs to contribute and support decisions and actions w hat the…
Fluctuating need refers to needs which may not be apparent at the time of the assessment; but may have been an issue in the past and are likely to arise again in the future. When practitioners assess a person’s needs, those presenting at initial contact may not be a true reflection of their condi…
Mrs B suffers from multiple sclerosis and over a one month period can experience issues with vision, balance, pains and spasms however these symptoms are not always continuous and she has good and bad days. Therefore to support Mrs B instead of providing additional regular hours to as part of a c…
What Matters to people Guidance and best practice on care reviews “A review should be proportionate to the circumstances of the adult”. Reviews should focus on the personal outcomes of the adult, the support plan, use of the personal budget and should ensure that the service provision continues to…
Purpose of a review The purpose of a care review is to formally re-evaluate the adults assessed needs, identified risks and support plan. A review will establish whether the support plan is meeting the adult’s needs and personal outcomes, if there are any unmet needs or outcomes and whether the c…
Arranging a review A review should be completed by appropriately qualified staff within 12 weeks of the commencement of any new service or support or 4-6 weeks where possible. Following this the review should take place annually or sooner if required. Reviews can be requested at any time by the a…
Identifying changes Reviews should not be used as a tool or resource to amend personal budgets to save funds. However the information collected in the review will determine whether the eligibility criteria should be reapplied and updated on mosaic. Any changes identified that would have an impac…
Action to take with identified changes Where a change in need is identified as a result of a review the allocated social worker or social care practitioner should: c omplete a reassessment that is proportionate to the change c learly document the reasons for any increases or decrease in levels of…
Reviews and risk management The results of the review may identify potential or imminent risks to the adult or others, therefore any risks identified must be addressed by the allocated social worker. Proportionate and effective risk planning with the adult and relevant agencies should be complete…
Quality of provisions The quality of commissioned service provision or support should also be evaluated during the review. If provider concerns are identified as part of the review the allocated social worker or social care practitioner should document: t he nature of the concern e vidence to sup…
What Matters to people Advocacy services that are provided by the commissioned service, CIIAS, delivered by Rethink Advocacy, Details about eligibility and how to refer into the services. The Camden and Islington Integrated Advocacy Service (CIIAS) is delivered by Rethink Advocacy. CIIAS provides…
What is Advocacy? What is Advocacy? “Advocacy is taking action to help people say what they want, secure their rights, represent their interests and obtain services they need. Advocates and advocacy schemes work in partnership with the people they support and take their side. Advocacy promotes so…
Eligibility General eligibility criteria To be eligible for support from the CIIAS, the person must be ‘ ordinarily residing in Camden ’ (i.e., living in Camden, or placed by a Camden social work team in specialist accommodation outside of Camden) The person must be over 18 years old. For IMCA an…
Referral process General Procedure for Referrals To discuss a potential referral, CIIAS can be contacted on 0300 790 0559 . To make a referral, complete the Rethink referral form . The form can also be accessed directly via the Advocacy London Hub website . All referrals should be sent securely t…
Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy (IMCA) Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy (IMCA) The role of the IMCA is to help people gain a voice and ensure their rights are protected in decisions made about them and to ensure the requirements of the Mental Capacity act 2005 is being followed. IMCA Eli…
Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA) Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA) The role of the IMHA is to provide a statutory safeguard to qualifying patients to help them to understand and exercise their rights with regard to their care and treatment under the Mental Health Act (1983). IMHA…
IMCA: Out of Borough Referrals IMCA: Out of Borough Referrals IMCA referrals do not follow the general eligibility criteria for people residing in Camden. The Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice states that the IMCA service to be instructed is the one which ‘works wherever the person is at the t…
Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) Advocacy Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) Advocacy Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard (DoLS) The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards introduced further roles for IMCAs. DoLS 39A IMCAs only deal with issues relating to deprivation of liberty application…
Paid Relevant Person’s Representative (PRPR) Paid Relevant Person’s Representative (PRPR) The role of the PRPR is to maintain contact with the relevant person and represent them in all matters relating to the Deprivation of Liberty (DoLS). DoLS RPRs are appointed where DoLS authorisation has been…
Court of Protection 1.2 Representative (CoP) Court of Protection 1.2 Representative (CoP) The role of the 1.2 Representative is to consider from the client’s perspective and in their best interests whether they agree or do not agree that the Court should authorise the package of care and support.…
Independent Care and Support Advocacy (ICSA) Independent Care and Support Advocacy (ICSA) The Care Act 2014 introduced Independent Care and Support Advocacy (ICSA) to ensure that people who face significant challenges in engaging with Local Authority processes have the support they need to partic…
Independent Health Complaints Advocacy (IHCA) Independent Health Complaints Advocacy (IHCA) The Health and Social Care Act 2012 transferred the responsibility of commissioning Health Complaints Advocacy services from Central Government to Local Government. At its heart, IHCAs empower and support…
Non-statutory Advocacy Non-statutory Advocacy Access to non-statutory advocacy will be prioritised to those people with a substantial difficultly which prevents them from self-advocating in key processes in their life where they may be left without the support to have their voice heard and to sec…
Identity Matters What Matters to people
Identity Matters Further information on how to report incidents including racism and/or other forms of discrimination can be found on the Discrimination Support Hub on Essentials. In this section of the practice guide, you will find information regarding Camden Council and Adult Social Care’s zero…
What is racism? Racism is a deep-seated issue in society, maintained by discrimination and prejudice. Racist discrimination can range from unintentional misunderstandings and lack of awareness through deliberate and/or malicious acts. Different types of race discrimination The Equality Act 2010 s…
Camden's approach to Zero Tolerance Soon after the murder of George Floyd in the US, front line staff in Adult Social Care told us that they wanted to do more to protect staff from racial and prejudicial behaviour in the workplace. In response to this, the Senior Management Team in Adult Social C…
Useful resources We have collated a list of useful resources relating to zero tolerance and anti-racism. If you have anything you would like to add to this page please email Andrew Reece. Allyship A guide to Allyship White Allies and Accomplices Respect my ethnic name: Anpu Sviakumaran is a YouTu…
Identity Matters These pages explain what neurodiversity is and aim to raise awareness on how neurodiverse people could be better supported. Information is available on why neurodiversity matters and there are resources provided to enable you to increase your learning. Also available are separate…
What is Neurodiversity? Neurodiversity refers to the variation and range of differences in individual brain function and behavioural traits regarding sociability, learning, attention, mood, and other mental functions and is often used in the context of autistic spectrum disorders. Neurodiverse or…
Why Neurodiversity matters Neurodiversity is a category of diversity and inclusion in the workplace and Camden has been taking steps to become neurodiversity smart. The growing prevalence of data surrounding autism, dyslexia, and ADHD has increased global awareness of neurodiversity and for organ…
What you can do to support neurodiverse colleagues It is important that as an organisation we continue to raise awareness about neurodiversity. However it is equally as important to ensure that our neurodiverse colleagues are in an environment where their differences are accepted. Allowing a neur…
Wellbeing passport When Camden signed their first staff Disability Charter , with the objective of becoming a truly inclusive organisation, part of that commitment was to set out a series of ways to ensure that our neurodiverse colleagues feel supported and protected. This led to the creation of…
Neurodiversity resources Below you will find a list of helpful resources to help increase your learning and raise your awareness regarding neurodiversity. There are also a number of Neurodiversity resources available on essentials . Autism at Work Webinar British Dyslexia Association Camden’s Neu…
Identity Matters If you aren't counted, you don't count A number of publications were used to develop this guidance including: Getting Equalities Monitoring Right (ScottishTrans) and Do Ask Do Tell: Capturing data on sexual orientation and gender identity (Stonewall) LGBTQ stands for Lesbian, Gay,…
What is LGBTQ Data? What is LGBTQ Data? Collecting LGBTQ data involves asking the people we work with about their sexual orientation and gender identity There are two ways to collect this data, anonymously through surveys or directly through our interactions with individuals as part of the ‘What…
Why are we capturing this data? Why are we capturing this data? We want to understand the people we support This will enable us to take targeted action if we understand the proportion of LGBTQ people that we support. Identifying specific problems and barriers faced by LGBTQ individuals mean we ar…
What do I say? Asking the question What do I say? Asking the question Although we often use the acronyms LGBT and LGBTQ, we’re actually talking about three different things gender identity sexual orientation and trans status So to get clear and accurate information about the lesbian, gay and bi…
What is the process for capturing this data on mosaic? What is the process for capturing this data on mosaic? Below is updated information for recording this data on Mosaic. For more information on Mosaic, including user guides and accessing support, please visit our Mosaic page. Our gender recor…
Why gender and not sex? Why gender and not sex? UK law treats sex and gender as the same thing and in general conversation people often use these terms interchangeably. However, when it comes to monitoring questions, it is better to use the term gender rather than the term sex This will help make…
What if people don’t want to say? What if people don’t want to say? Whatever you’re asking, some people just won’t want to share some information with you. And that’s ok For some, sharing information about their sexuality or trans status could be a huge thing, and something they are not ready to…
Information for the people we work with (Plain English) Information for the people we work with (Plain English)
Information for the people we work with (Easy Read version) Information for the people we work with (Easy Read version)
Identity Matters Information to raise awareness and improve understanding of the LGBTQ+ community Camden has a zero-tolerance approach to abuse including hateful or inappropriate behaviour towards members of the LGBTQ+ community. Information is available that can help raise awareness and understan…
LGBTQ+ Language Matters LGBTQ+ Language Matters LGBTQ+ is an acronym used to represent a diverse range of sexualities and gender-identities. The acronym refers to and can include those who self-define as: lesbian. gay. bisexual. transgender. queer. questioning. non-binary. intersex. asexual. pans…
Challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ people and communities Challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ people and communities Statistics show that LGBTQ+ people and communities: Have a 2.5 times higher rate of mental illness or experiences with substance abuse than the heterosexual population. Gay, bisexual and tr…