Homecare Services Guide

We have produced this Client Guide to help you understand our services, and feel safe in the knowledge that we care about you. Our services are tailor made to meet your specific needs, and we will do our very best to ensure that you are personally satisfied. Our staff are chosen for their qualities and skills in the job they do and receive update training to ensure they are always competent.

Contents:

Summary of Statement of Purpose
Geographical area covered
Range and level of care services provided, including specialist services
People for whom the service is provided
Relevant qualifications and experience of the registered person, manager and staff
Overview of the process for the delivery of care
Arrangements during sickness or absence of personal care workers
Key contract terms and conditions
Compliments and Complaints
Quality Assurance
Key policies and procedures
Clients views of the agency and the service provided

The purpose of Astor Care & Nursing Agency is to provide a high standard of domiciliary and nursing care to people in need to enable them to remain living in their own home.

Mission Statement
To help our clients maintain their dignity, respect and independence through the provision of quality home care services. We aim to offer clients the opportunity to be as independent as possible through choice.

Aims and Objectives
It is the aim of Astor Care & Nursing Agency to deliver a service of personal care/nursing and associated domestic services to meet the needs of dependant clients in their own home. This will be achieved by promoting a standard of excellence, which embraces fundamental principles of Good Care Practice that is witnessed and evaluated through the practice, conduct and control of quality care in the domestic environment.

Astor Care & Nursing Agency was formed in 1990, opening our first office in Knaphill. In 1993 we then opened Godalming and in 1996, Addlestone.

Astor Care & Nursing Agency is registered with the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI), are members of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), the Surrey Care Association (SCA) and the United Kingdom Home Care Association (UKHCA) and adhere to the UKHCA Code of Conduct.

We aim to offer our clients:

A full transcript of our aims, objectives and philosophy are contained in our Statement of Purpose, which is available to any client on request.
We offer a wide range of service tasks to our customers, including:

• Assisting clients to get up in the morning
• Assisting clients to go to bed at night
• Helping clients with their food at meal times
• Supervising the use of medicines
• Helping clients to use the toilet
• Helping clients maintain personal hygiene
• Ensuring clients have adequate heating
• Domestic chores e.g. bed-making, cleaning
• Collection of pension/paying of bills
• Preparing and cooking of meals
• Shopping
• Bathing service
• Housework service
• Specialist nursing care requiring Registered Nurses

We provide services in the following geographical areas:

Knaphill – Radius of 10 miles
Godalming – Radius of 10 miles
Addlestone – Radius of 10 miles

Our services are developed to help you maintain as much independence as possible, whilst enjoying a good quality of life. The tasks you can expect us to do are:

• Personal Care

- Assisting the client in/out of bed.
- Helping the client to dress and undress.
- Assisting the client into and out of the bath, using mechanical aid if necessary.
- Bed bathing as required.
- Assisting the client to take a shower.
- Emptying of commode.
- Toileting.
- Empty urine catheter bags.
- Wash/dry hair.
- Nail care (filing only).
- Mouth hygiene.
- Shaving.
- Assistance with medication.
- Shopping and benefit collection.

• Housework Service

- Kitchen hygiene:
Cleaning of surfaces, sinks, cookers and tile surrounds. Floor cleaning including wet mopping of non-carpeted surfaces. Defrosting of refrigerators and freezers. Washing up dishes and utensils. Vacuuming.

- Bathrooms:
Hygienic cleaning of bath, shower, and toilet. Cleaning of tiled surfaces. Floor cleaning including wet mopping of non-carpeted surfaces. Vacuuming.

- Living areas:
Vacuuming of carpets and wet mopping of non-carpeted surfaces. Dusting of surfaces.

- Sleeping areas:
Making and changing of beds. Vacuuming of carpets and wet-mopping of non-carpeted surfaces.

- Laundering:
To carry out such laundry duties as agreed with the client such as sewing, washing/drying clothes and bedding, visit launderette as required.

- General:
Clean inside windows. Remove dust and cobwebs with mop. Emptying of rubbish receptacles into external dustbin. Disinfect where appropriate.

• Sitting Service

- To remain with the client during specified periods of the day.

- To be available during these periods to carry out household tasks as necessary for the well-being of the client.

- To regularly monitor the client’s condition to ensure they remain in a safe environment.

- To offer any personal care that may be required by the client.

Any contract can include a combination of any of the service tasks in accordance to the needs identified through assessment and individual care planning. No contract will include:

• Nursing procedures (except by Registered Nurses).
• Unauthorised financial transactions.
• Manual handling and any heavy task not compliant with Health and Safety legislation.
• Gardening, decoration or repairs to property.
• Spring cleaning.
• Electrical tasks.

The above list is not exhaustive. Other areas may be introduced and/or the existing tasks itemised may be amended or withdrawn in accordance with future developments.

Tasks care workers may NOT perform:

• Fill monitored dosage boxes with medication
• Administer controlled drugs or substances
• Administer prescribed medication
• Cut toe nails
• Give Injections
• Change sterile dressings
• Insert / withdraw catheters
• Assist with gastric feeding
• Give suppositories / enemas
• Give ear/eye drops without specialist training
• Assist with nebulas without specialist training

Anyone who may benefit from any of our services may contract with us to supply the service. We provide care services to people of any age, disability, race, sexual orientation, religion or gender.

All our Registered Managers are Registered Nurses or qualified Health Care Assistants and are based in our offices as follows:

Knaphill Office – Marilyn E Davis RN Part 1
Godalming Office – Denise Offield NVQ 3
Addlestone Office – Brigid Stubbs RN Part 2

They all have many years experience in a wide range of senior positions in the care field.

All our staff receive specialist training designed to equip them with the required skills to assist you in your home.

All care workers will undertake a Topss induction training course within the first 6 weeks of employment. Having completed the Topss Induction, they will undertake the NVQ Level 2 in care and are encouraged to progress through the higher levels.

Registered Nurses undertake an induction training course and are registered in the United Kingdom with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

Following the initial referral a visit will be arranged to carry out a technical assessment of need. A ‘Client Care Plan’ will be formulated with you and/or your representative, and any other relevant professional involved, to identify how your health and welfare needs will be met. As part of your assessment we will carry out a number of risk assessments to ensure the safety of both you and your carer are taken into account.

Your ‘Client Care Plan’ will be reviewed and updated as necessary in order to continue to meet your identified needs. Every endeavour will be made to assist you, your relative(s) and your representative to be fully involved in this process.

We have a pool of relief staff to cover for any personal care worker/Registered Nurse who is absent through sickness or for any other reason. If no relief staff are available the responsibility falls to the relevant manager to rectify the position. We will inform you of the circumstances and endeavour to re-arrange normal services as soon as is practicable.

It is our sincerest intention to provide the highest standard of care suited to your individual requirements. You will be given a copy of our Terms and Conditions, which includes the service(s) you have contracted within the terms of your ‘Client Care Plan’ in return for the agreed charges.

We firmly believe that all clients have the right to express their thoughts and views and these are to be welcomed. You and your relatives or representative must feel free to complain or express concerns, about any issues relating to the service we provide that are not to your liking.

We have an effective Quality Assurance system, which is customer centred. We use specifically designed questionnaires as well as our in-house Quality Audit system.

We also use our regular discussions between the line manager and care workers/Registered Nurses to help us to ensure our service to you is maintained to a good standard.

We have a comprehensive set of policies and procedures, which are reviewed regularly to meet the requirements of legislation. Our policies and procedures support our practice, help protect your rights, and safeguard your health and best interests. All staff understand and have up-to-date copies of all policies, procedures and codes of practice. Our policies and procedures include:

• Personal care workers/Registered Nurses having their time sheet verified by you or your representative at the end of each individual visit to confirm the time spent by the worker at your home.

• To safeguard you, your property and our carers/Registered Nurses we have Public Liability insurance of £5,000,000 Employer Liability insurance of £10,000,000

• As part of our selection process all prospective staff are screened to ensure as far as possible that they are honest and trustworthy individuals, including an Enhanced Disclosure check with the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). They are also required to attend a face to face interview and provide a minimum of two references.

• Registered Nurses have their registration checked with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Your views and those of your relatives and any representative are very important to us; they enable us to deliver the type of service that you want, when you want it.

Although we ask specific questions under our Quality Assurance system, we welcome your views on any aspect of our services at any time.