Receiving a Contact/Referral

Every contact/referral should be managed in a professional manner at all times.

Establish whether the contact/referral is being made by the person/carer about whom it relates. If not, confirm and record that consent has been given or, in the case of a person with Care and Support needs who lacks the capacity to consent that the individual making contact has the legal authority to act on their behalf, or is doing so in the person’s best interests, such as another professional.

Adding a new personal record

Where the person/carer making a contact or referral (or the person/carer about whom the contact or referral is about) is not already known to the Local Authority, a new personal record will need to be created in order to:

1. record the contact/referral;
2. record any information gathering that may take place; and
3. record the outcome of the contact/referral.

When a contact/referral is received, it should be checked to make sure that it contains all of the required information.

Recording a contact/referral

A record of the referral should be made as soon as it is received, even if the outcome of the referral is not yet clear.

All recording should be in line with local recording requirements.

When contact/referral information is missing

Where information is not comprehensive, professional judgement should be used about the need to either:

1. return the contact/referral to the referrer with a request for the additional information required;
2. contact the referrer to obtain the additional information required; or
3. process the contact/referral and seek the additional information required at a later stage.

This decision should be made on a case-by-case basis and will depend on factors such as:

1. the level of information missing;
2. the risk posed to the person/carer as a result of any delay in processing the referral;
3. the urgency of intervention required; and
4. the complexity of the apparent need.

Making Contact

Take a strengths-based approach during any conversation or written communication. See: The Skilled Conversation

Take opportunities to provide information and advice or to discuss prevention services.

Always allow sufficient time for the conversation so that the person 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 the contact/referral has understood what you have communicated to them. Consider an alternative method of communication if they are a person/carer who appears to have difficulty in doing so (for example, via e-mail, face to face or virtual contact) or consider the need to assess mental capacity (see the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Resource and Practice Toolkit).

Record all contacts/referrals 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 the contact/referral updated on progress.

Endeavour to answer telephone contacts in a timely way.

Be sure to give the individual calling your/your team’s name, your role and your/your team’s contact number for future reference.

Ensure a record of the telephone contact is made on the person’s record.

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/your team’s name, your role and your/your team’s contact number for the sender's future reference.

Your email signature should include the corporate signature statement:

“This e-mail may include legally privileged information and may contain confidential information intended only for the use of the addressee.  If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination of information contained herein, together with the distribution or copying of this e-mail, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify me by return e-mail. Thank you.

If your email is a response under the Freedom of Information Act please send this to CustomerInformationService@lincolnshire.gov.uk.  This is the email account which is used to process Freedom of Information requests”

If an e-mail communication is being forwarded to another practitioner or service for action, let the sender know and explain why. If the email is in relation to a person with an open case, CSC complete an Additional Information step and send to the relevant Duty Team.

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, face to face or virtual).

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.

Ensure a record of the e-mail contact is made on the person’s record.

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, face to face or virtual 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.

Ensure a record of the text communication contact is made on the person’s record.

Letters should be opened on the day that they are received and passed to the most appropriate practitioner/team 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.

Ensure there is a copy of any written correspondence on the person’s record.