Fostering is a rewarding vocation, but it can also be physically, emotionally, and mentally demanding at times. That’s why, as part of your fostering assessment, you’ll have a medical review to help us gain an overall picture of your health.
But what does the medical actually involve? From why they’re important to what they really cover, join us as we demystify this stage of the assessment process so you know exactly what to expect when you apply.
Why the fostering medical assessment matters
Every stage of the assessment process helps us learn a little bit more about you. From your life experiences and reasons for fostering to your family set up and relationships, over the duration of your assessment, we’ll gain a deeper insight into who you are.
This not only helps us safeguard foster children but also ensures that fostering is right for you and that you’re ready to take on the roles and responsibilities of being a foster parent.
There are a few reasons why we consider your health and well-being during the fostering assessment process:
- To make sure you’re well enough to keep up with the demands of caring for a child.
- If you’re fostering with a disability or mental health issue, it will help us understand how you’re managing your condition.
- To ensure that fostering won’t negatively impact your health and well-being.
- To help both you and us decide which type of fostering would be the best fit for you and your family.
What does the medical assessment include?
We complete your medical assessment using the CoramBAAF Adult Health Report form. The information collected in this report helps the foster care matching process and ensures you receive the right support when you start fostering. There are four sections, completed by us, you, your GP, and our agency medical adviser:
Section one
As your fostering agency, we’ll complete this section of the form, which includes basic details such as:
- Your name and date of birth.
- The type of fostering you’re applying to provide.
- Your preferred age range of children you’ll foster.
- The number of children you’d like to foster at one time.
- Our agency’s name, address, telephone number, and email.
- Details of your assessing social worker.
Section two
You’ll complete this section of the health report, which has been split into five parts to make it clear and easy to navigate, and includes:
- Your details: General details about you, like your name, address, GP contact info and the name of your partner (if you have a joint application).
- Current health: Past and present physical and mental health conditions and how you manage these, whether you’re taking medication, and if you receive benefits due to an illness, injury, or disability.
- Family history: Serious health conditions of your immediate family, such as your mum, dad, siblings and children, including any genetic conditions that run in your family and could possibly affect your health in the future.
- Lifestyle: Your lifestyle choices that could affect your health, such as the amount of exercise you do, whether you smoke or vape, and how many units of alcohol you consume each week. It also asks for your height, weight, and whether you’ve received any fertility treatment.
- Consent: At the end of this section, there is a small paragraph that you’ll need to read through carefully before signing.
Section three
Your GP will complete section three of the report, reviewing the details you provided in section two, before recording the following:
- General health: Whether they’re your usual GP, how long they’ve known you, and whether there’s anything in your lifestyle, health, or medical history that could raise challenges or put children and young people at risk.
- Medical history: Any previous or current medical conditions, surgeries, accidents, pregnancies, fertility treatment, and infectious diseases. They’ll also confirm whether you’re up to date with your vaccinations and provide comments where necessary.
- Mental health: Any mental health conditions you have currently or have experienced previously, including medication, therapy, and whether you’ve been unfit to work due to a mental health problem.
- Consultations: Past and present referrals to specialists for health conditions.
- Examination: Your doctor will examine you, noting down your height, weight, BMI, blood pressure, and cardiovascular risk.
- Impact of health conditions: Your GP will comment on how you cope with any chronic health conditions, including your ability to work, how it affects your daily activities, and how it could impact your capacity to foster.
Section four
Our agency medical adviser will review all the information provided by you and your GP. They’ll then write a summary of your health and lifestyle with comments about how it could impact your ability to perform your roles and responsibilities as a foster parent.
Your medical assessment will be included in your Form F report, which your assessing social worker will submit to the fostering panel for review. They’ll use this, along with all the other information gathered about your life, to make a recommendation to the Agency Decision Maker about your suitability to foster.
By your side every step of the way
We hope this article has eased any anxiety about the sorts of things we’ll ask you during your foster parent medical check.
Although it may feel a little intrusive, every step of the fostering assessment process supports our understanding of how you’ll manage the fostering role and ensures children and young people live in safe, stable, and loving homes.
When you apply to foster with us here at Fosterplus, you won’t have to manage the application, assessment, and panel process alone. We’ll be by your side, ready to offer our advice, guidance, and a listening ear.
Want to learn more about how to become a foster parent? Call us on 0800 369 8512 or submit an enquiry form, and a member of our dedicated team will call you.
