Our Obligations

Every aspect of managing the service is set out in a comprehensive set of Policy Procedures. These policies ensure that we meet the statutory requirements (or outcomes) for running a Domiciliary Care Service and cover all areas of management, client care, promoting dignity, maintaining Health & Safety standards and the necessary staff training to do all of the above.

We are committed to making a positive difference to client care and promote honest and open communication and transparent within the service.

Copies of our policies can be viewed at our office, otherwise an overview of key points is provided below.

Assessments of Needs

This will be done by a senior staff member prior to commencement of service delivery. It enables us to make a decision as to whether we can meet all your health / social needs in your own home. It is a legal requirement. If we can meet your needs and if you decide to go ahead with our service we will ask you to read and sign a “Terms and Conditions” agreement or service contract, and then implement a plan of care.

Care Planning

A Care Plan or Service User Plan is the key document for your care. We will have identified your needs, assessed areas of risk (risk assessments) and recorded these findings. We then decide how our staff can properly meet these needs and this forms you plan of care. Care plans are continuously reviewed as needs can be ever changing and we have to respond to these changes to ensure we are delivering the appropriate care. We will always seek your opinions and input when developing the care plan and making any changes or amendments to it, to ensure you are fully satisfied with the care you receive from us. Your care plan will of course include all cultural / spiritual / religious needs.

Quality Management Systems

We have embodied “quality” into our way of life and in everything we do. We define “quality” as delivering a service of care centred on a personal approach appropriate to each individual clients’ needs. We have a comprehensive self-assessment system which requires all our working practices to be reviewed / audited at least annually to ensure that we maintain the standards we have set ourselves. We send out staff and client Quality Questionnaires and publish the results and the actions we have taken to correct any non conforming areas (should the be any!!).

In addition to our own self-assessments we also receive inspections from the Care Quality Commission to ensure that we are operating as we should. These are usually unannounced. Copies of the latest announced and unannounced inspection reports may be found on the CQC website – http://www.cqc.org.uk/

Health & Safety

Worth Valley Care take our Health & Safety responsibilities very seriously and have extensive policies and procedures in place. Care staff also must be up to date with Health & Safety Training.

Health & Safety legislation and good practice prohibits our staff from:

• Working without shoes in your home.
• Using moving and handling techniques other than those they have been trained to use.
• Using step ladders if they are not well maintained and do not have a safety bar.
• Using any faulty electrical appliance or any appliance fitted with a round pin plug.
• Carrying out any activity or using any piece of equipment which may place themselves or others at risk of injury.

Key Holding Arrangements

If keys are required to gain access to your home, we would recommend you install a key safe. Staff are not permitted to hold keys for individual clients, and Worth Valley Care will not be responsible for keys given directly to a care worker.

Other Paperwork

All care workers will be required during the visit to write in the client communication book. This has to be done on every visit. It is a record of tasks that have been done / or have assisted you to do. The communication book will be signed by the worker and will ask you to sign their time sheet as to what time they arrived and left your home. We may at some time in future operate electronic call monitoring service to further ensure reliablity. We will of course advise you of this at the time.