The Role of a SAP Champion within Tameside General Hospital

The advent of the Single Assessment Process (SAP) will see a change in the way that patient information is collected and stored. The process will ensure that repetition is kept to a minimum and that multi-professional agencies have access to current information relating to individual patients in order to plan and implement specific care tailored to meet the specific needs of individual patients.

In order to smooth the transition from the current way of documenting patient information to the Single Assessment Process, Champions have been nominated from each ward and from other various clinical areas to aid staff during the transitional period, identify and report issues relating to implementation within the clinical area and to ensure staff are kept well informed regarding progress and policy change relating to SAP.

The profile of a SAP Champion

The SAP Champion for each ward will:

• Set up a SAP noticeboard within the area they are linked to.
• Display current information on the Board as it is received
• Ensure that leads and contacts are displayed for staff to access if necessary
• Ensure that the SAP board is kept updated regularly, displaying new/ current SAP newsletters and minutes as they are distributed
• Ensure that staff within their area has access to a SAP file containing information relating to the Single Assessment Process.
• Allow staff within their clinical area a forum in which to identify and discuss issues arising from SAP
• Inform the SAP Lead for the Trust, Modern Matron or Clinical Development Nurse of issues arising from the implementation of the SAP
• Promote the SAP website – through the link on the TIS website
• Attend ward meetings and disseminate pertinent information relating to SAP to their colleagues
• Attend training in preparation for the introduction of SAP and act as a training resource within their own clinical area for colleagues
• Ensure that new employees to the Trust working within their clinical areas are aware of training requirements and provide assistance and support to meet their training needs in relation to SAP
• Keep a register for their own clinical area, within the SAP file, of staff who have been trained to use SAP
• Attend regular SAP support meetings as directed, on behalf of their clinical area and provide prompt and accurate feedback to colleagues
• Provide and display information for patients and relatives relating to SAP as appropriate and provide answers or direction to questions posed by the public within their clinical area
• Promote the SAP website to the public when necessary