What is an Impartial Assessor?
The HCPA Care Provider Impartial Assessor Service works on behalf of Hertfordshire and surrounding care providers to support safe, timely and person centred transitions from hospital into community services.Â
Our Impartial Assessors work closely with Integrated Discharge Teams and hospital wards at Lister Hospital, Watford General Hospital, Princess Alexandra Hospital and Barnet Hospital. Â
The team provides independent assessment, information gathering and communication support to help providers make informed decisions about accepting and supporting individuals following hospital admission.Â
The team can also support you with individuals in other local settings such as Acute Mental Health Units, Community hospitals or bordering hospitals such as Luton and Dunstable.
The service supports:
Residential Care Homes
Nursing Homes
Homecare Providers
Supported Living
Acute Mental Health Services supporting individuals transitioning into residential or nursing care
The service can support any adult care setting, supporting older people, nursing, dementia adult disability, learning disability and mental healthÂ
Our Impartial Assessors have extensive experience within both health and social care settings, enabling them to understand the needs of individuals, providers and hospital teams.Â
In addition to conducting assessments, the service can provide treatment updates throughout an individual’s hospital admission and work collaboratively with wards to ensure important person-centred information is shared. This may include:
- Dementia care needs and support strategies.
- Communication preferences.
- Personal and lifestyle choices.
- Emotional wellbeing and considerations.
- End of life wishes and care requirements.
- Behavioural support approaches.
- Cultural, spiritual and individual preferences.
By sharing this information at the earliest opportunity, we can help providers prepare effectively and support a smoother transition from hospital into ongoing care.
We know that delayed discharges can have a significant impact on individuals, families, hospitals and care providers. The Impartial Assessor Service helps reduce these delays by acting as a dedicated link between providers and hospital teams, ensuring that decisions are based on comprehensive and up to date information.
What are the benefits?
Speeds up hospital discharge processes
By supporting timely decision making and reducing delays.
Improves communication
Between the hospital, care provider, individual and their support network through a dedicated point of contact.
Provides comprehensive treatment & assessment updates
Throughout a hospital admission.
Supports person centred care planning
By sharing information about an individual’s preferences, routines, communication needs and care requirements.
Supports dementia & end of life care pathways
Through collaborative working with wards and discharge teams.
Helps providers make informed decisions
About whether they can safely and appropriately meet an individual’s needs.
Reduces the need for provider staff to travel to hospital
Allowing more time to focus on delivering care and support.
Strengthens partnership working
Between hospitals, care providers and community services.
How does it work?
- 1. The Impartial Assessor is alerted to planned discharges, assessment requests or support needs by hospitals, providers or discharge teams.
- 2. The Impartial Assessor gathers relevant information, liaises with healthcare professionals and carries out a comprehensive assessment on behalf of the provider where appropriate.
- 3. Throughout an individual's admission, the Impartial Assessor can provide treatment updates and share relevant person centred information to support care planning and preparation.
- 4. The Impartial Assessor works collaboratively with hospital staff to ensure key information relating to dementia care, end of life care, communication needs and personal preferences is considered during discharge planning.
- 5. Assessment findings and recommendations are shared with the provider to support informed decision making and safe transitions into care. .
- 6. The Impartial Assessor follows up with the provider following discharge to ensure the transition has been successful and to identify any additional support required.
Contact the team today
The Impartial Assessor service is available at:
- Lister Hospital from Monday – Friday between
8am – 4pm - Princess Alexandra Hospital from Monday – Friday between
8am –4pm - Watford General Hospital from Monday – Friday between
8am –4pm - Barnet Hospital from Monday – Friday between 8am-4pm
| Contact Name | Telephone number | E-mail address |
|---|---|---|
| Barnet Hospital | Laura - 07762 985555 Sheila - 07549 022016 |
impartialassessorwatford@hcpa.co.uk |
| Lister Hospital, Stevenage | Belinda - 07833 097195 Laura - 07762 985555 |
hcpaassessorlister.enh-tr@nhs.net |
| Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow | Jakub - 01279 973468 Laura - 07762 985555 |
impartialassessorpah@hcpa.co.uk |
| Watford General, Watford | Laura - 07762 985555 Sheila - 07549 022016 |
impartialassessorwatford@hcpa.co.uk |
| Impartial Assesor Team Leader - Laura Hummerston | 07762 985555 | laurahummerston@hcpa.co.uk |
| Impartial Assesor Service Manager - Samantha Lynch | 07881226013 | samanthalynch@hcpa.co.uk |
Get in touch
To learn more about the service e-mail us today via the button below.