Trusted Assessor Model

Trusted Assessor' schemes are a national initiative designed to reduce delays when people are ready for discharge from hospital. West Northamptonshire Council (WNC), in partnership with the Integrated Care Board (ICB) and Northampton General Hospital (NGH), is jointly commissioning a Trusted Assessor model to improve discharge pathways, reduce delays in transfers of care, and strengthen multi-agency working across adult health and social care services, with WNC acting as Lead Commissioner for the contract. Following a period of in-patient care, and prior to an individual's discharge, a statutory assessment, or review is required, to establish eligibility and level of need. Currently, care providers assess the individual in the hospital setting, using their own assessment tools however, due to capacity and resource issues, this can contribute to delayed discharges. The purpose of the Trusted Assessor is to support and facilitate discharges into care providers and to avoid discharge delays from NGH. The model will play a crucial role in ensuring timely, consistent, and person-centred assessments across acute and community healthcare settings, fostering improved outcomes for individuals and service systems alike. As a new service model in West Northamptonshire, the service is being commissioned as a pilot for up to 2 years in order to establish local need and inform any future commissioning.