Adult social care information for professionals in Northumberland.
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How can I get access to Swift? Any new user requiring access to Swift must request this via their line manager. The line manager must do this by emailing the systems help line stating the name, designation, start date and team of the new starter. I’m transferring to a different team. What do I need to do? Your line manager should email the systems helpline with the name of the team you are transferring to and the date you are transferring. Your manager must ensure that any caseload you have is reallocated before Swift is updated with your new team. I am working for more than one team. How does that affect my Swift access? Systems can arrange for a separate log in for each team you work for. Your line manager should email the systems helpline stating which teams you need access for, together with your start date for each team. I've forgotten my Swift password, what do I do? You can reset your own Swift password via the Swift password reset icon on your PC desktop. Guidance on how to do this can be found in the ‘resetting Swift password’ crib sheet in the Swift manuals and guidance section at the end of this page. If you do not have a Swift password reset icon, contact the systems helpline. How often do I need to change my Swift password? Every 30 days your password will expire and you will have to choose a new one. The following rules must be followed to ensure that your new password will be accepted:
Why does a key team need to be recorded? All open referrals must have a key team recorded on the involvements screen. The key team should be the team that is responsible for any costs of services the client is receiving. The key team's cost centre will default into the cost centre field against any services recorded in the costed packages Swift’s care module. Why is there a financial agent recorded on the involvement screen? This is because they are handling the client's financial affairs with regards to their charges for services. The involvement role of financial agent is currently being recorded on this screen by the finance section. Should I leave the GP practice open when the case is closed? No. An end date should be recorded against the GP practice when the case is closed. However, if the client is re-referred and the GP practice hasn't changed, you can just remove the end date rather than reinputting the GP practice. You must not remove the end date from any other involvement at re-referral. These will have to be reinput with the new start date. How can I see a history of professionals and organisations involved with a case? On accessing the involvements screen, only current involvements will display (those without end dates). If you wish to see a list of previous involvements, you will need to click on the ‘all’ button. As soon as an end date is input against an involvement, the involvement will disappear from the current view. You will then only be able to see this by clicking on the ‘all’ button. How can I get a new organisation or professional recorded on Swift? New organisations, such as GP surgeries and hospitals, or professionals, such as NTW consultants, can only be added by the systems support team. You should contact the systems support helpline on (01670) 622 450 to arrange this.
What is involvement based security? Involvement based security is used in Swift to control user access to specific areas of a client's Swift record, currently contact notes and hazards screens. Swift looks at which teams you are part of and restricts your access to contact notes and hazard screens for any client where you do not meet the criteria. What are the criteria for involvement based security? You will only be able to access contact notes and/or hazards for a client if you meet the following criteria:
How can I access contact notes and/or hazards if I don't meet the criteria? You will need to record yourself as an ‘involvement’ on the involvement screen. Please remember to record an appropriate involvement role to explain why you require access to the record. When should I end my involvement? If you will not have ongoing involvement with the client, it is important to end your involvement when you have completed necessary work and no longer require access to the record. I can't access the client's record to add myself as an involvement. Make sure that you search for the client via Frontdesk before adding yourself as an involvement.
Can I amend a note I have entered? No. Once saved, a contact note can only be edited or deleted by a member of the systems support team. All amendments to contact notes made by systems support are logged for audit purposes. Is there an easy way to search through a list of contact notes? You can search through a list of contact notes using a search facility in Swift. For example, you may want to search for all contact notes recorded with a specific note type beginning with ‘CHC’ or all notes that have certain detail entered in the head line field. To search for specific note types, press F7 on your keyboard which should turn the right hand part of the screen turquoise. Next, select the note type you would like to search on from the drop down list, then press F8 to view a list of contact notes matching your selection criteria. The contact notes manual has guidance on how to carry out searches in contact notes. The manual can be found in the Swift manuals and guidance section at the end of this page. I have a specialist involvement in a case and I want to be able to pick out the notes that I added myself, rather than have everything mixed up together. Swift doesn't offer an automatic way of viewing only your own notes. You can, however, use the F7 and F8 functionality to search for your own notes. First, begin a query by pressing F7 on your keyboard. Enter some characters from your surname surrounded by a % sign in the second ‘creator’ field at the bottom of the notes screen. Then, press F8 to execute the query. A list of all notes you have entered should now be displayed. It's a problem writing long notes, since there is no way to save them unfinished and then go back to them. We would advise that you type lengthy notes into Word, so that you can save as you go along. Once you have finished, you can copy and paste the text into a contact note in Swift. Can I copy a contact note to a related person's record? Yes but you can only do this if the person is recorded on the client's relationships screen. Once you have recorded and saved the note on the client's record, click on the copy button that appears at the bottom of the screen. A list will appear of all people who are recorded on the client's relationships screen and you must tick the copy box against the person whose record you wish to copy the contact note to. Click on continue and you should then see a message that tells you the note has been successfully copied. You should note that anything recorded in ‘further details’ of the contact notes screen, for example questionnaires, do not copy to the relative’s record and will need to be recorded manually. How do I mark a contact note as a significant event? When recording a contact note on Swift, tick the ‘significant event’ box before you save the note. When recording a contact note as a significant event, you must enter a headline in the ‘headline’ field, otherwise Swift will not allow you to save the note. When a significant event contact note has been recorded by anyone other than the client's key worker, the key worker will receive a workflow job entitled ‘significant event'. What should I do if I’m asked to record a contact note for a colleague? Record the note as normal and then record the name of your colleague in the ‘creator’ field. I’m involved with the client but I’m not the key worker. How can I be notified if any contact notes are recorded by other involved professionals? If you add a role of ‘subscribed’ to your involvement in the ‘involvements’ screen, you will receive a workflow notification whenever another professional records a contact note for the client. The involvements crib sheet will give you guidance on how to subscribe to contact note workflows and can be found in the Swift manuals and guidance section at the end of this page.
How is a client needs assessment recorded? Admin record a client needs assessment after an initial referral has been recorded. The assessment should be linked to the referral by selecting this from the drop down list in the ‘resulting from’ field. The target start date of the assessment will be recorded as the same date as the referral and the target end date will initially be recorded as a fictitious date of 365 days ahead of the target start date. This date should subsequently be changed by the care manager to reflect the actual date of the assessment. The care manager should then generate a CSP1 against the assessment. I have carried out a review but I keep getting a Swift reminder to say that the review is due. Swift will send a workflow reminder to the client's key worker for any review recorded on Swift that does not have a completion date. If you have carried out this review and you want Swift to stop sending you the reminder, you will need to enter a completion date. Check that you have the date of the next review you wish to carry out for the client set up, then Swift will remind you when this review is due.
I have saved a CSP1 as a final version but I have made an error and I want to amend or add more information to the form. What can be done? Contact the systems support helpline on 01670 622450. Final versions of the CSP1 can be reverted to a draft format by a member of the systems support team. You may be asked to explain why you require this change to be made to establish that this is the best course of action. I have double clicked on the ‘SendSwiftForm’ icon but get a message that there are no emails to send. It is possible that your network access may be incorrectly set up. Please contact the systems support helpline on 01670 622450 for further advice. Can I leave my CSP1 in draft format? The CSP1 can be saved as a draft as many times as you wish. However, all CSP1s should be saved as a final version as soon as possible. My new CSP1 does not hold the details that I know existed in a previous CSP1. Please contact the systems support helpline on 01670 622450 for further advice.
What should be recorded in Swift on receipt of a safeguarding adults notification? For every safeguarding adult notification received, a contact note entitled ‘safeguarding adult concern notification’ must be recorded on Swift. I have recorded a safeguarding adult concern notification contact note but I see an error message when I try to run the safeguarding episode form. Safeguarding adult concern notification contact note types are not linked to the safeguarding episode form. You should record the safeguarding adult concern notification contact note and enter the relevant information in the note details field. What should be recorded on Swift on receipt of a safeguarding adults referral? A contact note entitled ‘safeguarding referral’ must be recorded on Swift, followed by the generating and completing the safeguarding episode form. The episode form should hold all of the information regarding the referral. Once the safeguarding referral contact note has been recorded then any further safeguarding referral information should be recorded under the safeguarding referral form update contact note and then the episode form will need to be updated. If appropriate, the current status will change. How do I generate the safeguarding episode form? Record a contact note type of either ‘safeguarding referral’ or ‘safeguarding referral form update’ and save the note. Click on print at the bottom left of the screen. Click on the safeguarding episode form report option and then click on go. The episode form will need to be updated and, if appropriate, the current status changed. What other information do I need to record in relation to a safeguarding case? There are other safeguarding contact note types that can be used for recording safeguarding information. They are: ‘safeguarding referral form update’ and ‘safeguarding manager validation'. When either contact note is entered, the safeguarding episode form should then be generated and update with the information. The current status should also be updated, if appropriate, and then the form should be saved.
Can an unwanted provision be removed from Swift? Please contact the systems support helpline on (01670) 622 450 and have the Swift ID of the client, details of the provision and start dates available. Systems will need to check with the finance team to ensure that no invoices or client charges have been raised against the provision that requires deletion. If the provision has links to a financial assessment, or has had invoices or charges linked to it, the provision cannot be removed. Systems support will end the provision so that there is no cost to the budget. Why do I have a workflow job called view a provision/provision amendment? At times, a team manager may receive ‘view a provision’ and ‘view a provision amendment workflow jobs'. These jobs tend to arise when a case has been transferred from one team to another, where services have been previously paid for by a different team. These jobs should be actioned in the same way as the authorise a provision/provision pmendment workflow jobs. However, if you have any difficulty in dealing with them please contact the systems support helpline on 01670 622450 for assistance. How can access be given for one team manager to authorise provisions for another? Systems support can set up named people to be a deputy for a team manager. To initiate this, first contact the systems support helpline on 01670 622 450. Once you have been created as a deputy, follow the guidance in the Swift workflow manual, which can be found in the Swift manuals and guidance section at the end of this page.
How can I obtain a printout of all my cases and/or reviews? To obtain a printed caseload list, go to Frontdesk and access the frontsheet screen. Carry out a search for the person whose caseload list you wish to retrieve and have their details displayed on the frontsheet screen. Click on the ‘print’ button at the bottom left of the screen and select ‘caseload list report’ and click on ‘go'. Select how you wish the report to display e.g. by review date, involvement start date and click on submit query.
How do I transfer a case in Swift? If the case is transferring from one worker to another within the same team, the only change needed is to end the current key worker on the involvements screen and record the new key worker. Swift will automatically transfer any review reminders linked to the previous key worker to the new worker. If the case is transferring from one key team to another, Swift will need to be updated to reflect the new key team/key worker on the involvements screen, the new cost centre paying for any services in the ‘costed packages of care’ module. The paper file location should also be updated to reflect the new location for the manual file. For advice on what to do when transferring a case, contact the systems support helpline on (01670) 622 450 or refer to the Swift Frontdesk manual, which you will find in the Swift manuals and guidance section at the end of this page. Can a workers entire caseload be transferred to another worker? Please contact the systems support helpline on (01670) 622 450 who can arrange a bulk transfer of cases to a new worker.
What is a CSP2? A CSP2 is where you record the carer’s assessment. You can do this in two ways. The first way would be from the carer’s assessment screen by recording a carer’s needs assessment type, pressing print, then carer’s needs assessment bundle and go. You will then be able to create and fill in this form, either through Swift or save it to bundle out onto your tablet to fill in. Alternatively, when you bundle out a client needs assessment for the client, a ‘manual’ carer’s needs assessment form for the carer is also created within the bundle for you to fill in manually. However, this cannot be bundled back into Swift when it has been pulled through from the clients assessment bundle. It must be entered manually via the carer’s assessment screen on the carer’s Swift record. There is no way to bundle in a manual CSP2 into Swift. How do I record that a person is a principal carer for a client? Record the person who is the carer on the client's relationship screen within Frontsheet/ further details and enter the relationship of the person to the client. You will also need to click on the principal carer ‘yes’ field and the word ‘carer’ should be recorded as part of their telephone number so that this will appear in the header. How do I record a carer's assessment? When a carer's assessment is carried out, a contact note must be entered onto both the carer's and the client's record using a note type of ‘carer assessment completed'. You can copy the contact note from the carer's record to the client's record using the copy button at the bottom of the contact note screen. The care manager should update the relevant questions within the CSP1 to reflect a carer’s assessment has been carried out and the date of the assessment. Do I need to record if a carer does not wish to have an assessment? If a carer does not want a full assessment, we recommend they contact Carers Northumberland (info on carers information sheet C4) for advice and support. Carers Northumberland can also advise people on whether they would benefit from a formal carer’s assessment. If a person is unsure, the best advice will often be that they should talk to Carers Northumberland first and then decide. How do I record that a client doesn't have a known relative/carer? Go to the client's relationship screen (via Frontdesk/further details), press F6 and carry out a search for Swift ID 272576. Swift will find a fictitious record named ‘no known relative/carer'. Enter a relationship of ‘unknown’ and click on save. How do I record that a client has declined to give details about their relative/carer? Go to the client's relationship screen (via Frontdesk/further details), press F6 and carry out a search for Swift ID 272577. Swift will find a fictitious record named ‘details withheld'. Enter a relationship of ‘unknown’ and click on save.
What date should be recorded in the contact date field? The date the referral was received, usually the day before the CAT meeting, should be entered.
If the case is to be allocated to both care and therapy, what should be recorded? Where a case is allocated to both specialisms, you must only enter one referral. The outcome of the referral should reflect the lead specialism decided by the CAT. The involvements screen should be updated with the relevant STSS team and also the named professionals from both care and therapy.
What should I record if the CAT hasn't made a decision about who to allocate the case to? If the CAT is unable to make an allocation decision until further information is received, you can record the referral and enter an outcome of ‘CAT: awaiting further information'. Once a decision is made, the outcome should be amended to reflect the decision made by the CAT.
What should be recorded as the first face to face contact if the client wasn’t seen? If the client wasn’t seen by an STSS professional for whatever reason, the face to face contact date entered should be the date the client withdrew, died, was admitted to hospital etc. Failing that, enter the same date as the referral date.
How do I record that an STSS referral has been signposted? When a referral is signposted to a service or organisation other than STSS or social care, record the referral on the contacts screen and enter an outcome of ‘inappropriate referral/not suitable for STSS'. A contact note should be entered with the details of where the referral has been signposted to.
When recording the ‘CAT: initial allocation decision’ contact note, what date should be recorded? The date of the CAT meeting should be entered.
Should I record the STSS team as a key team? If STSS is the only team involved, then it should be recorded as the key team on Swift. If there is a care management team involved, the care management team must be recorded as the key team and the STSS team must be entered as an additional involvement. Note that once the client begins receiving costed services, the key team must be the care management team responsible for the cost centre.
What start date should be entered in the involvements screen to record the involvement of the STSS team? The date the case was allocated to the STSS team should be entered. This will usually be the same date as the CAT meeting.
Should I record the involvement of an STSS professional? Yes, if there is an STSS professional allocated, then this involvement should be recorded on Swift. The STSS professional should only be ticked as a key worker if they are the only worker involved.
We've recorded an STSS professional on the involvements screen but the situation has changed and the professional will not be involved with the client. They have not had any contact with the client and the case is to be allocated to a different STSS professional. How should this be recorded on Swift? Record an end date against the original STSS professional using the same date as the start date. Record the new STSS professional using the date they became involved with the client as the start date.
What do I record so that an STSS professional, who is not the key worker for the client, receives notifications about contact notes recorded for clients they are involved with? On the involvements screen for the client, click on the STSS professional's involvement in the summary list on the left side. On the lower part of the screen, click in the involvement role field and select ‘subscribed’ from the list of options. Enter the involvement start date in the start date field. Click on save.
How do I record STSS care hours? There are two contact note questionnaires that can be used to record STSS care hours. One is for recording planned care provided, named ‘start hours (questionnaire in further details)'.
How do I record half an hour or three quarters of an hour of care received? Half an hour is recorded as 0.5 and three quarters of an hour is recorded as 0.75. Only numbers should be recorded, you should not enter any words.
I'm confused about what should be recorded in the care hours questionnaire. The following example should hopefully provide clarification about recording detail in the ‘start hours (questionnaire in further details)'.
Where both care and therapy are involved but care is the lead specialism, should the rehab/therapy priority be entered against this referral? Yes, the therapy priority should be recorded against the referral which shows that care is the lead specialism. The priority should be selected from the list of options from the reason field, either urgent (within two working days), priority (within five working days) or non-priority (within 18 weeks).
What date should be recorded as the start date for diagnosis? This should be the date the client was referred to STSS and must be the same as the date entered in the contact date field on the contacts screen.
What date should be recorded as a start date for the intervention? This should be the date the therapist first visited the client and may not be the same date as recorded in the out date field on the contacts screen.
How do I record that a client has started with the Falls Education Group? This should be recorded in the contact notes module. There is a specific note type of ‘Falls Education Group started'. The date the invite letter was sent should be recorded as the date of the contact note and details about the group should be recorded in the note details field.
Can I record the results of a Tinetti assessment on Swift? Yes. These should be recorded in the contact notes module. There are two note types entitled ‘Falls Tinetti balance assessment (record results in further details)’ and ‘Falls Tinetti gait assessment (record results in further details)'. Each note type has a questionnaire in further details which must be completed.
How do I record where a client has been passed to a technical instructor in the north of the county? In the north, technical instructors are not part of the STSS teams and are based in hospitals. The following should be entered when a case has been allocated to a TI in the north of the county:
How do I record a closure? The relevant CAT ended contact note must be recorded and the closure reason should be chosen from the list of options in the outcome field. Refer to STSS guidance in the Swift STSS manuals and guidance link at the bottom of this page.
What should be recorded if a client we have received a referral for does not get discharged from hospital? Once it is established that the client will not be discharged from hospital, you will need to:
How do I record that a client has died? When a client dies, you must record the date of death in the Frontdesk/frontsheet screen as soon as possible. You can then continue to close the case off by entering a ‘CAT: end STSS unplanned: goals not achieved’ contact note with an outcome of ‘STSS ended – Died,’ closing all involvements and recording any additional information required for care or therapy.
The Care Act 2014
This page is about new legislation which came into force from 1 April 2015.
A focus on your wellbeing Decisions about your care and support will consider your wellbeing and what is important to you and your family, to help you remain healthy and independent for longer.
Helping you stay independent for longer We will work with our partners in health, housing, welfare and employment services to prevent, reduce or delay the need for care and support for all local people.
New eligibility criteria New national eligibility criteria set out when people are entitled to care and support, and when carers are entitled to support in their own right. The new criteria closely match those already used in Northumberland and, where the new criteria are more restrictive, we have no plans to change our current policy.
Changes to the way people's needs are assessed Your needs assessments will be carried out jointly with you, and you will be given more information in writing. Anyone with care and support needs, and any family member or friend providing care, will be entitled to an assessment, regardless of their financial situation. We will also offer advice and guidance if you do not want an assessment at present.
Personal budgets Adults with eligible needs will continue to have a right to personal budgets and direct payments. A personal budget is information about the cost of the care and support the council has agreed is needed, so you can say how you want the money to be used. It includes the amount you pay yourself (based on your financial assessment) and any amount the council pays.
Deferred payment agreement A deferred payment agreement is an arrangement with the council, which allows people to use the value of their home to pay for care home fees without having to immediately sell their home.
Information and advice for everyone who needs it Councils must make information and advice on care and support available to everyone. This includes signposting people to independent financial advice.
Shaping the market Councils should aim to ensure everyone who needs care and support has access to a range of suitable services.
Safeguarding The act sets out how councils should coordinate arrangements for protecting adults with care and support needs from abuse or neglect.
Other changes The act sets out what local authorities must do when people move from one local authority area to another, or when children with care and support needs become adults.
When will the second stage be implemented? The government was planning changes from April 2016, designed to limit the amount anyone will pay over their lifetime for care and support services. However, the government has announced that those changes are now scheduled to be introduced from April 2020.
National information Final national regulations and statutory guidance on the 2015 changes were published in October 2014.
What is the Care Act 2014? The Care Act 2014 is a new legal framework for adult social care, which includes changes to the way care is funded and the way people’s needs are assessed. The act is the most fundamental change to the law on adult social care for more than two decades. Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust delivers adult social care in Northumberland in partnership with Northumberland County Council.
From April 2020 there will be:
Why has it been introduced? The government and the law commission agreed that social care law, which was set out in parts of a large number of acts, some dating back to 1948, should be replaced by a single act of parliament that contains all the care duties of adult social care.
How do I find out more about the act? For further information and queries about the Care Act and the local implementation process, email: careact@northumbria-healthcare.nhs.uk To request further information in an alternative format, please call 01670 536400.
We're expecting to change how this works in the next upgrade. The reason was part two of the form is about needs rather than the plan for meeting them. There are two reasons why we have to make this distinction. One is that we should be encouraging people to take control of their care and support through a direct payment – and we shouldn't be prescribing in detail how people with a direct payment will arrange things. The other is that we expect, possibly as soon as next year, to have to set independent personal budgets for self-funders, whose actual arrangements may be quite different from any assumptions we make in setting their budget. For instance, they might have their eligible needs met by paid workers, who are also providing other services, which would not be eligible for public funding.
Care managers should tell admin if you have entered any of the following new information on a CSP1, because it needs to be separately entered on Swift:
The CSP1 includes all the information which we have previously recorded on the CP2, though it is presented differently:
There isn't at present a specific place for this kind of information, but a sensible solution would be to add a sentence in bold at the end of the first box in part 1 (‘Your disabilities or health conditions, or any other reasons why you need care and support, are summarised in the box below’), saying something like ‘You have a hospital passport which describes in detail the things which hospital staff should know if you need treatment’.
The form is designed on the basis that the person it is about is referred to as ‘you’. You should follow this style even if the person does not have capacity and the form will in fact be sent to someone else such as a family member.
We are developing online versions of the questions in the CSP1 and CSP2, which will enable people to fill in their answers before talking to a needs assessor, but this won't be ready for another month or two.
It isn't entirely consistent at present. Drop-downs with a red + against them are blue if the default answer hasn't been changed, and when the red + is clicked, it turns black if it has been changed. Other drop-downs generally stay blue whatever is selected, though they do change if they are in the same paragraph as a dropdown with a red +. We intend to adopt a more consistent colouring scheme in a future enhancement, and may also try to give other indications about the state of the form – for instance, by giving an indication of which questions have not yet had the answers confirmed when someone is reassessed. But we need to consider what would be most useful. Comments on this would be welcome.
Copies of the needs assessment handbook which is the primary reference on how to complete the new forms are currently being published to a folder on the shared S: drive rather than to this page.
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