I work in a residential facility where clients are only here for 30 to 45 days. When we start a care plan, how often should we follow up/review these?

Answered by Sheila Scott

This is very individual according to the needs of the individual you are supporting.  Care plans must always be reviewed whenever service users conditions change.  If you are delivering outcome focussed care (e.g you are supporting aspects of rehabilitation) I would recommend reviewing them weekly.  If you are offering a longer period of respite care or convalescence I would suggest a review within 7 days to ensure the service user is satisfied that all care is being delivered as per the care plan and then as needs change or as agreed with the service user (whichever is soonest).    Regulation 9 of the Health and Social Care Act states the following requirements:

•             Assessments should be reviewed regularly and whenever needed throughout the person’s care and treatment. This includes when they transfer between services, use respite care or are re-admitted or discharged.

•             Reviews should make sure that people’s goals or plans are being met and are still relevant.

•             Plans should include an agreed review date.

There are no hard and fast rules about this and the Registered Manager needs to put in place processes which best suit the individual service