A Systematic Evaluation of the Development and Impact of the Single Assessment Process in England: Research and Policy Update

assessment process in England, is being undertaken at the University of Manchester. It has been commissioned by the Department of Health as part of the research programme to support the National Service Framework for Older People. The project has two aims. The first is to review the conduct of assessment across health and social care in order to highlight key issues in the initial implementation of the Single Assessment Process (SAP). The second is to evaluate its impact from the perspective of multiple stakeholders: users; managers in health and social services; and professionals including specialist clinicians. A literature review has explored key issues in implementation of the SAP derived from previous research in both the UK and overseas. This has been supplemented by a focus group comprising SAP lead officers in the North West of England in order to highlight the issues of particular relevance to those charged with the task of implementing the new arrangements for the assessment of older people in localities. Some of the key messages from this are summarised in this document.