ASSESSING APPLICANTS FOR PART 3 ACCOMMODATION - IS A FORMAL CLINICAL-ASSESSMENT WORTHWHILE

Arrangements for the assessment of applicants for Part IIII accommodat ion vary, particularly for those currently living in their own homes. In one outer London borough, the traditional approach, involving an in terview with a social worker combined with medical history supplied by the general practitioner, was supplemented by a formal multidisciplin ary clinical assessment at a rehabilitation centre. A review of 199 ca ses seen between 1985 and 1989 revealed that the clinical assessment d etected apparently unknown medical problems in 158 (79%) clients, most of which were amenable to treatment. Forty-nine out of 173 (29%) of t he clients recommended for residential care on the basis of the social worker's assessment alone were judged to be better placed elsewhere a fter the complementary clinical assessment. In 25 cases (14%), the cli ent's capacity and preference to stay in their own home appeared not t o have been realised or taken into account by the social work assessme nt. These results suggest that there may be a case for a programme of formal clinical assessment for residential care applicants. The implem entation of community care provides the opportunity for more conclusiv e evaluative studies to be carried out.