§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will conclude his consideration of models of assessment of people's care needs; and if he will list the models under consideration. [136209]
§ Mr. Hutton[holding answer 6 November 2000]: In line with the National Health Service Plan, we aim to introduce a single assessment process for health and social care for older people by April 2002, with protocols to be agreed locally between health and social services. Initially this will be introduced for those older people who are most vulnerable, for example those living alone, or recently discharged from hospital or entering residential or nursing care. Work on developing the assessment process is being taken forward as part of the development of the National Service Framework for older people.
With regard to nursing care, the NHS will make an assessment of the nursing care requirements of nursing home residents. The Department is working in close consultation with a number of organisations on a standardised approach for this part of the assessment process, which will be ready for implementation in October 2001. There are a range of nursing assessment tools currently available, though each is likely to require some development to deliver the outputs needed.