title: A step in the right direction.
abstract: The importance of nursing assessment for older people within a multi-disciplinary framework has long been advocated by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN 1997a , 1997b ). The government's guidance for the single assessment process, to be implemented locally from April for older people (DoH 2001a ), is therefore welcomed as a move towards ensuring that older people will receive regular and ongoing multi-agency assessment as a part of the care planning process. In particular, the emphasis on a person-centred approach is fully in line with the values and beliefs held by the RCN ( RCN 1999 ) and echoed in the National Service Framework for Older People (DoH 2001b ).
authors.affiliation: RCN Gerontological Nursing Programme, Royal College of Nursing Institute.
authors.forename: Deidre
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wild