Hospital referral for assessment for community care and support
Hospitals must determine when it is safe to discharge a person and implement a discharge plan. Part of that decision-making process requires hospital staff to determine whether the person needs to be referred for an assessment to establish ongoing care and support in the community after discharge.
This standard supports the communication between hospital staff and community and social care staff where it is decided that a referral for assessment is needed.Â
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Current release
From 01 January 2026, this standard will be owned and managed by NHS England and is made available for reuse or amendment under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (OGL 3.0). A review of the ongoing requirement for this standard will be undertaken by NHS England. Details on this and any update to the standard will be published on the NHS Standards Directory. If you have any questions or feedback relating to this standard, please email: england.standards.assurance@nhs.net.
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About this standard
The Hospital Referral for Assessment for Community Care and Support standard defines the information requirements in respect of an adult person being referred from hospital to health and social care for possible ongoing social and health care support following discharge from hospital.Â
The standard includes the minimum information that previously had be sent to the person’s local authority as part of the Assessment, Discharge and Withdrawal Standard notice(s) (SCCI2075) which is now retired as well as the clinical information that health and social care professionals in the community have told us they require following discharge from hospital. Â
Benefits:Â
- Enhances professional communication and continuity of care.Â
- Ensures timely access to relevant patient information.Â
- Supports integrated care between acute, social and community care.Â
The standard includes a core set of information that is communicated in the referral and references other important documents pertaining to the person that should be accessible. These additional documents may be communicated as attachments or be available from shared care records. For example, if an end of life care plan exists it is important that this is communicated in the referral and the recipient is sent the document or knows where to access it.
The diagram below shows the documentation that might be available in a shared care record and not communicated with the referral. Please click on the diagram image to open a full screen version.
