JARGON BUSTER 'F'

FAMILY GROUP CONFERENCE - A family group conference is a meeting where families make plans and decisions about a child or adult. The meeting is organised and run by an independent co-ordinator. ‘Family’ includes the child or adult the meeting is about, and their family, friends and people from their community who care about the child or adult.

FAMILY LIAISON TEAM - The family liaison service is a non-medical team that can support you from your child’s admission to hospital through to when he/she goes home.

FAMILY MODEL - A way of working where support is offered to the whole family rather than just one member of the family.

FAMILY THERAPY (ALSO CALLED SYSTEMIC THERAPY) - Families can be very stressful, they can experience multiple ways of behaving and communicating with each other that can create friction and distress. Family therapy explores with the family those patterns of communication in a non-judgemental and safe manner to help the family move forward in a more positive manner.

FAST-TRACK PATHWAY - If a person is near the end of their life or their condition is getting worse quickly, they can receive a faster than usual assessment for continuing health care. This can help NHS funding for their care and support to be put in place as quickly as possible, usually within 48 hours.

FELDENKRAIS METHOD - The Feldenkrais Method is an educational technique developed by Israeli physicist Moshé Feldenkrais, it involves increasing your self-awareness through specific bodily movements and exercises. Through slow repetition of movements, you “unlearn” inefficient habitual movement patterns which are causing strain to certain areas of your body. It is similar to the Alexander Technique, in the sense that it is a learned method, rather than a therapy which involves manipulation of the muscles or bones (such as with physiotherapy or chiropractic).

FELLOW OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS - A Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification that signifies a surgeon's advanced training and expertise in their field. It is awarded to senior surgeons in the UK and Ireland, indicating that they have met rigorous standards of practice and knowledge. The designation varies slightly depending on the specific college, such as FRCS (Eng) for the Royal College of Surgeons of England or FRCS (Ed) for the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. Achieving this fellowship is a mark of distinction in the surgical profession, reflecting a commitment to high standards of surgical care and ongoing professional development

FEMME - Femme is a term used in LGBT culture to describe someone who expresses themselves in a typically feminine way. Please Note - There are other identities within the scope of femme, such as ‘low femme’, ‘high femme’, and ‘hard femme’. You shouldn’t use these terms about someone unless you know they identify with them.

FETTERING OF DISCRETION - When an individual or organisation that is allowed to use their judgement to make a decision – because there is no fixed rule about what they should do – expresses an opinion on one side or the other before the decision is made. There cannot be a blanket rule about something that applies to everyone. If someone has ‘fettered their discretion’, they have decided the outcome before considering all the facts.

FINANCIAL ABUSE - When someone harms a person by stealing from them. This could include theft, fraud, internet scamming, coercion in relation to an adult’s financial affairs or arrangements, for example in connection with wills, property, inheritance or financial transactions, and the misuse of property, possessions or benefits.

FINANCIAL ASSESSMENT - The way local councils work out how much a person can afford to pay towards the cost of their care and support. The financial assessment usually happens after the assessment of the person’s care and support needs. If it happens at the same time, it must not influence the needs assessment.

FIRST CONTACT - The first time a person connects with their local council to request some support, and the council begins to collect information about them and/or the person they are making contact about. The contact could be over the telephone, by email, by textphone, via an online form or ChatBot, or face-to-face in a council office, hospital, community venue or other location. This is when the local council begins to assess the person’s needs for care and support. The Care Act 2014 guidance says that from the person’s very first contact with the council, they must be given as much information as possible about the assessment process, in an accessible format. Councils should also consider the person’s need for independent advocacy from this stage.

FLT – See FAMILY LIAISON TEAM

FLUCTUATING NEEDS - Care and support needs that change over time, or that vary from day to day. The Care Act 2014 says that local councils should ask a person, as part of their assessment, how their needs vary, and should work with them over a long enough period of time to get a complete picture of their needs. If a person has fluctuating needs, their care plan or support plan should say what they want to happen if they have a sudden change or an emergency.

FORCED MARRIAGE - A marriage where one or both partners do not or cannot consent to the marriage but are forced into it using physical, psychological, financial, sexual or emotional pressure.

FORENSIC MENTAL HEALTH - This refers to people with mental health needs who are involved with the criminal justice system

FORMAL PATIENT - Someone who is held in a mental health ward in hospital and is not allowed to leave – by law – for their own safety or the safety of others. This is sometimes described as being ‘sectioned’.

FRAILTY - A condition that may develop as people get older and their body becomes less able to recover from illness or injury. Refers to older people who are at higher risk of illness or injury – for example through falling over, and who are more likely to spend time in hospital or to require longer term care and support. Older people with frailty usually have weak muscles and will walk slowly, get tired easily and find it hard to climb stairs or get out of a chair or bed.

FRCS – See FELLOW OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS

FRONTLINE - Used to describe people in organisations who work most closely and most often with people seeking or drawing on support.

FUNCTIONAL ABILITY - How well a person is able to manage everyday tasks such as getting dressed, preparing food and looking after their home. A person’s ability to do these things, and also to work, might change as a result of illness or disability.

FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT - A way of understanding a person’s ability to manage everyday tasks, and working out how much help and support someone might need.