Foster Carer Health Assessments

Consulting Well provides specialist, GP-led health assessment pathways for prospective foster carers, kinship carers and existing foster carers requiring review medicals.

For new applicants and kinship carers, we can manage the adult medical process from referral through clinical assessment to a clear, proportionate, panel-ready medical adviser report.

We also provide health assessments for foster carer reviews, with the approach tailored to the purpose of the review and the information required by the fostering service.

Bringing the assessment and medical adviser function together within one pathway provides fostering services with greater consistency, clear accountability and a reliable route from referral to completed medical advice.

Our established model has been developed through more than five years of delivery and over 1,500 enhanced assessments.

The pathway brings together the stages of the foster carer health assessment within one managed process:

Referral and consent
The fostering service refers the applicant and we manage the health assessment pathway from that point.

Relevant health information
GP records and applicant health information are reviewed within the confidential clinical process.

Specialist consultation
A structured GP-led consultation considers health in relation to the demands of fostering, including caring capacity, resilience and readiness.

Medical adviser report
Relevant findings are translated into a clear, proportionate report focused on ability to care, functional impact and support needs.

Panel support where required
Additional medical adviser advice or panel input can be provided where needed.

Mainstream fostering | Kinship care & guardianship | Foster carer reviews

Our assessments go beyond recording diagnoses and medical history. The consultation is a supportive, coaching-style conversation that helps applicants understand how their health relates to the demands of fostering and what they can influence.

We consider functional impact, treatment and self-management, resilience, support networks and any issues that may benefit from further preparation or support. Stable health conditions, effective self-management and individual strengths are considered alongside areas of vulnerability.

The aim is not simply to provide a medical opinion. The assessment should help strengthen carer readiness while producing proportionate clinical advice to support informed decision-making.

The proposed Fostering Standards for England set out a clearer direction for foster carer health assessment, with greater emphasis on ability to care, functional impact and support needs, proportionate use of health information and relevant professional expertise.

These principles closely reflect the approach Consulting Well has already developed and delivered over the past 5+ years.

Our pathway is designed around:

Ability to care, not general fitness
Health is considered in relation to the fostering role and the individual applicant.

Proportionate reporting
Decision-makers receive the relevant clinical conclusions and recommendations they need, rather than an unnecessary account of the applicant’s full medical history.

Individualised assessment
Diagnostic labels do not create automatic barriers. Strengths, function, self-management, resilience and support are considered alongside health needs.

Relevant clinical expertise
Assessment and reporting are GP-led, informed by specialist safeguarding and fostering experience.

Timely, consistent delivery
A managed pathway supports reliable assessment flow and prompt panel-ready reporting.

 Consulting Well combines general practice, safeguarding expertise and practical understanding of fostering and adoption assessment.

The service is led by Dr Lorna MacColl, former ICB Lead GP for Safeguarding for over a decade with active involvement in CSPRs, DARDRs and SARs. Our approach has developed through more than five years of delivering specialist adult health assessment pathways for children’s services, with a strong focus on proportionate clinical judgement, applicant experience and clear advice for decision-makers. 

Our specialist foster carer health assessment model has developed through more than five years of local authority delivery and over 1,500 assessments.

We work with local authorities, independent fostering providers, regional recruitment and assessment organisations and commissioning partnerships looking for a reliable, responsive and consistent adult health assessment and medical adviser pathway.