This case study shares how the Care Home Trusted Assessor model in Perth & Kinross was codesigned with local partners to improve communication, ease hospital to care home transitions and build trust across services. What began as a pilot with 14 care homes has grown into a partnership of 28 and a permanently funded role – a powerful example of how collaboration in social care #CareCreates better outcomes for people, families and communities.
From Pilot to Permanent: Collaboration That Works – Perth & Kinross Care Home Trusted Assessor
The Care Home Trusted Assessor (CHTA) role was introduced in December 2024 as a pilot, codesigned with Perth & Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership, the Scottish Care Independent Sector Lead for Perth & Kinross and local care home managers. Its purpose was simple but powerful: to improve collaboration across hospital and care home settings and support more timely discharges.
From the outset, the role was built on partnership – not imposed, with the job role and process shaped by those working closest to the challenges. Initially, 14 care homes took part in the pilot, helping to design the approach and test how collaborative working could reduce pressure, improve communication and support better decision making. Today, the CHTA works alongside 28 care homes across Perth & Kinross, reflecting sustained engagement and growing confidence in the model.
The CHTA acts as a trusted link between hospital wards, discharge teams and care home managers, supporting shared understanding and informed decisions – while always respecting that care home managers make the final decision. By reducing time pressures on care home managers and improving the flow of information, the role has strengthened relationships across organisational boundaries and supported more sustainable transitions from hospital to care home.
Building on its success, the role has generated increasing interest from other Health and Social Care Partnerships, keen to learn from and build on the P&K model. In recognition of its impact and the strength of its collaborative approach, the Care Home Trusted Assessor post is now permanently funded by Perth & Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership.
What began as a pilot has become an embedded partnership – showing what’s possible when co-design and collaboration moves beyond aspiration and becomes everyday practice.
Dave Henderson, Independent Sector Lead for Perth & Kinross, Partners for Integration
#CareCreates
