Contact Sheets

Contact sheets provide a brief record of all contacts with or on behalf of a service user, and therefore, constitute a concise record of activity in a case.

Using Contact Sheets

All contacts with or on behalf of service users should be recorded in chronological order. Each record of contact should specify:-

• The date of the contact
• Who the contact was with
• The purpose of the contact
• The outcome or any action taken in response to the contact
• Where any further recording relating to the contact is located in the file. For example, 'See detailed record dated….', 'See Health section of Core Assessment dated….';
• The date the contact was recorded
• The signature and printed name of the worker completing the record.

Contact sheets can be used as a chronolog or as a process log.

The chronolog contains the minimum of detail necessary to enable activity in a case to be followed and monitored. The chronlog is useful for supervisors and practitioners, other than the case holder as it allows them to quickly identify the work undertaken by the case holder.

The progress log records the progress made in relation to one or more specific case objectives. The progress log is useful for supervisors and practitioners, other then the case holder as it allows them to quickly identify the outcomes of work undertaken by the case holder.

The use of contact sheets as a process log can be supplemented by regular summaries.

Example contact sheet (Microsoft Word format)

Key records index