Adult Social Care Digital Social Care Record: Minimum Operational Data Standard (MODS): Implementation Guidance

Assessment (page 13 of 9) in Conceptual Model: Adult Social Care Record (chapter 8 of 10) within Adult Social Care Digital Social Care Record: Minimum Operational Data Standard (MODS): Implementation Guidance

The process of evaluating a person’s needs, wishes, strengths and preferences, as well as identifying any relevant risks associated with them.

%%{ init: { 'theme': 'base' } }%% graph TD accTitle: Visualisation of a conceptual data model for Assessment - the process of evaluating a person’s needs, wishes, strengths and preferences, as well as identifying any relevant risks associated with them. accDescr: When a person needs support, their care team carries out a formal check, called an assessment, to understand their unique situation and how best to help them. This process involves looking at the person’s strengths, what they are good at, and what they want for their own life, while also identifying any risks or specific needs they have. Professional care workers lead these checks, but they always listen to the person or a trusted friend acting on their behalf to make sure the final plan reflects their true wishes and preferences. Because lives change, these assessments are regularly reviewed and updated to ensure the support stays right for the person, making sure they stay safe, healthy, and in control of their future. subgraph ContextLayer [" "] direction LR Observation[Observation] Review[Review] end subgraph PrimaryActors [" "] direction LR CareActor[Care Actor] Proxy[Subject of Care Proxy] SubjectOfCare[Subject of Care] end subgraph CoreHub [" "] Assessment[Assessment] end Observation -->|1 influences| Assessment Review -->|0..* reviews 1| Assessment CareActor -->|1..* performs| Assessment CareActor -->|1..* completes| Assessment CareActor -->|1 authorises| Assessment Proxy -->|1 expressed by 1| Assessment SubjectOfCare -->|1 performed for 0..*| Assessment subgraph Subtypes [" "] direction LR NeedsAssessment[Needs Assessment] MentalCapacityAssessment[Mental Capacity Assessment] FinancialAssessment[Financial Assessment] RiskAssessment[Risk Assessment] end Assessment -->|is a| NeedsAssessment Assessment -->|is a| MentalCapacityAssessment Assessment -->|is a| FinancialAssessment Assessment -->|is a| RiskAssessment MentalCapacityAssessment --- DoLS[DoLS] FinancialCircumstance[Financial circumstance] FinancialAssessment -->|1| FinancialCircumstance SubjectOfCare -->|1 ... 0..*| FinancialCircumstance subgraph RiskDetails [" "] direction LR SafeguardingConcern[Safeguarding Concern] Risk[Risk] end RiskAssessment -->|1 identifies 0..*| SafeguardingConcern RiskAssessment -->|1 identifies 0..*| Risk SubjectOfCare -->|1 has 0..*| SafeguardingConcern SubjectOfCare -->|1 has 0..*| Risk subgraph NeedsDetails [" "] direction LR Need[Need] Wishes[Wishes] Strength[Strength] Preferences[Preferences] end NeedsAssessment -->|1 evaluates 0..*| Need NeedsAssessment -->|1 evaluates 0..*| Wishes NeedsAssessment -->|1 evaluates| Strength NeedsAssessment -->|1 evaluates 0..*| Preferences SubjectOfCare -->|1 has| Need SubjectOfCare -->|1 expresses 0..*| Wishes

Assessments are performed for the Subject of care and can be expressed by a Proxy for subject of care if the Subject of care does not have Mental Capacity.

Care Actors perform, complete and authorise Assessments of the:

Needs Risks Safeguarding concerns Strengths Wishes Preferences and Mental Capacity of the Subject of care.

Needs, Risks, Safeguarding concerns, Strengths, Wishes and Preferences are recorded as Observations in reference to the Subject of care during an Assessment. Observations are recorded before, during (and after) Assessments. Observations about the Subject of care made before the **Assessment **should be available during the Assessment as they can influence both assessment and care planning processes.

The Adult Social Care Record (MODS) defines three typical types of assessments:

Care Needs Assessments Risk Assessments Mental Capacity Assessments Care Needs Assessments evaluate the Needs, Strengths, Wishes, Preferences of the Subject of care. Needs include information about the significance and urgency of the care need and can include a reference to a list of healthcare problems. Strengths, Wishes, Preferences are evaluated and recorded as a narrative description.

Risk Assessments identify Risks and Safeguarding concerns, as well as recording the reason for the risk assessment, any Care Actors that the Risk involves and whether the Subject of care has an understanding of the risks. Risks can include information about trigger factors, relapse indicators and information about the Care Actors who should be informed.

Mental Capacity Assessments, includes a narrative of whether an assessment of the mental capacity of the Subject of care has been undertaken. The narrative statement includes what capacity the decision relates to, the outcome of the assessment and the best interest decisions if person lacks capacity. Mental Capacity Assessment records should include a reference to the location of the Document where the mental capacity assessment is recorded.

Assessment records should include details about the scheduled Reviews.

Note: Financial Assessments are currently out-of-scope for the current iteration of the Adult Social Care Record.

Page last updated: 13 July 2026