Receiving a Contact
Amendment
In February 2024, information about the Caldicott Principles was added into Section 3.2, Providing Information about a Person.
Every contact should be managed in a professional manner at all times.
Establish whether the contact is being made by the person about whom it relates. If not, confirm that consent has been given or, that the individual making contact has the legal authority to act on their behalf.
Take a strengths based approach during any conversation or written communication.
Take opportunities to provide information and advice or to discuss other prevention services.
Always allow sufficient time for the contact so that the caller can say everything they want to say and ask any questions they may have.
Where a message has been left for you always call back as soon as possible and apologise for any delays or inconvenience caused.
Make sure you are satisfied that the individual making contact has understood what you have communicated to them. Consider an alternative method of contact if they are a person who appears to have difficulty in doing so (for example, e-mail contact or face to face contact) or consider the need to assess mental capacity (see the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Resource and Practice Toolkit).
Record all contacts in a proportionate way, capturing all relevant detail and key points and actions.
Follow up on any actions agreed in a timely way and keep the individual making contact updated on progress.
Endeavour to answer telephone contacts in a timely way (wherever possible between 3-5 rings).
Be sure to give the individual calling your name, your role and your contact number for future reference.
Acknowledge all e-mail communication so the sender knows the e-mail has been received, even if a response to any query cannot be given straight away.
Where a response is not given straight away, or where further action is needed confirm to the sender what will happen next and when the sender may expect to hear from you (or someone else) again.
Make sure that the signature at the bottom of any e-mail you send is correct and includes your name, your role and your contact number for the sender's future reference.
If an e-mail communication is being forwarded to another practitioner or service for action let the sender know and explain why.
Where the response is going to be lengthy or complex establish whether the sender would prefer to be contacted in another way (for example by telephone or face to face).
Before ending an e-mail communication chain, make sure that you are satisfied the sender is happy with the response and has no further questions.
Acknowledge all text communication so the sender knows the text has been received, even if a response to any query cannot be given straight away.
Make sure that your name, your role and your contact number is included in any text response made.
Where a response cannot be given straight away, or where further action is needed confirm to the sender what will happen next and when the sender may expect to hear from you (or someone else) again.
Text communication, while convenient may not be the most appropriate way to communicate complex, lengthy or sensitive information. Unless the query is straightforward or the sender specifically requests a text response try to establish whether there is an alternative method of contact that can be used (for example e-mail, telephone contact or face to face contact).
Before ending a text communication chain, make sure that you are satisfied the sender is happy with the response and has no further questions.
Letters should be opened on the day that they are received and passed to the most appropriate practitioner to respond.
Letters marked as 'urgent' should be treated as such until there is evidence that this is not the case.
Acknowledgement of the letter should be provided whenever requested, whenever the letter is formal (for example from a Solicitor or a Court) or whenever there is likely to be a delay in a decisive response.
Where a response cannot be given in a timely way, or where further action is needed confirm to the sender (either through a letter or another available method of contact e.g. telephone) what will happen next and when the sender may expect to hear from you (or someone else) again.
When responding in writing or by e-mail make sure that your name, your role and your contact number is included in any response made.
Written responses should be made on Local Authority headed paper so that the sender has confidence in the validity of the response.
The Care Act places certain duties on the Local Authority whenever it is making any decision about a person with Care and Support needs. These are things that you absolutely must consider and are:
- The impact on the person's individual wellbeing;
- Whether any other prevention service can be provided that will delay, reduce or prevent the need for Care and Support;
- Whether information or advice can be provided to support the person to find their own solution, or to delay, reduce or prevent the need for Care and Support.
It is vital that you understand your duties in relation to the above. Please use the links below to access further information as required.
See: Promoting Individual Wellbeing for information about the duty to promote individual wellbeing.
See: Preventing Needs for Care and Support for information about the duty to prevent, reduce or delay needs.
If it is clear to you what action is required following a contact, and you are authorised and confident to make this decision you should do so to avoid any unnecessary delays.
If it is not clear what action is required following a contact, or you are not authorised or confident to make this decision you should not commit to an action straight away, but discuss this with your line manager or a relevant colleague.
In all cases you should:
- Assure the person that their views have been heard and will be considered in any decision that is made; and
- Agree with the person when they can expect to hear from you again.
The outcome of the contact should be communicated to the person about whom it relates at the earliest opportunity and by the most appropriate practitioner. Often this is the practitioner who has been communicating with the individual making the contact throughout, but if a manager or another professional has been responsible for the outcome decision consideration should be given about whether it may be more appropriate for them to communicate the outcome.
The method of communication should reflect that requested by the person and any specific communication needs they may have. For the purposes of the Care Act communication about the outcome of a contact is subject to the same requirements as the provision of information and advice, and the duty to make it accessible therefore applies equally.
The Local Authority (and anyone representing the Local Authority) has a duty under Section 4 of the Care Act to either provide directly, or provide access to a range of information and advice relating to adult Care and Support, including financial advice. This duty applies equally in respect of all local residents regardless of whether the person with Care and Support needs is known to, lives in, or is already receiving services from the Local Authority.
See: Providing Information and Advice to read more about the duty to provide information and advice, including how information and advice should be provided and the specific information and advice requirements around finances.
The following Leeds Information and Advice Resources are available online:
Information and advice must be provided in an accessible way so that the person for whom it is intended can best understand and make use of it.
If you feel the person for whom the information and advice is intended will need support to understand it then you should:
- Consider whether the person has anyone appropriate who can help them to understand it;
- Consider any steps that you can take to support them to understand it (for example talking through the information over the telephone or summarising it in a simpler format); and
- Consider the benefit of independent advocacy.
The Local Authority has a common law and legal duty to safeguard the confidentiality of all personal information. As an employee of the Local Authority you are bound contractually to respect the confidentiality of any information that you may come into contact with. Under no circumstances should such information be divulged or passed to any persons or organisation in any form unless you have authorisation to do so.
All information sharing that takes place must be in line with data protection legislation (namely the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018) and local policy.
The Caldicott Principles must also be regarded. The Caldicott Principles are a set of principles that apply to the use of confidential information within health and social care organisations and when such information is shared with other organisations and between individuals, both for individual care and for other purposes. For further information, see: The Caldicott Principles.
Any unauthorised disclosure of confidential information may result in disciplinary action of individual prosecution under the Data Protection Act 2018.
For further information and guidance see: Providing Information about a Person or Carer
If the person, carer or anyone else request a review of the reablement plan this must be considered. The Care Act permits anyone to make a request for any type of review and places a duty on the Local Authority to carry out a review whenever it is deemed reasonable to do so.
If, as part of any conversation or information gathering you become concerned that a vulnerable adult or child is experiencing, or at risk of abuse or neglect you must respond appropriately by raising a concern.
See Safeguarding Adults, which also includes information about how to raise a children's safeguarding concern.
If you are concerned that an adult or child is in imminent danger from abuse or neglect, or that a criminal act has taken place you should contact the police by dialing 999.
Last Updated: August 15, 2024
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