STEPS Team
Effective from March 2016
Community Services
CORMAC Solutions Limited
Service Information Pack
STEP Service
Welcome Letter3
Introduction: Aims & Objectives4
Details of Service Provided5
Contact Details6
Details of Staff7
Things you Need to Know8
Complaints & Compliments11
Care Quality Commission13
Tips to become Greener14
Comment/Compliment form15
Dear
We would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to CORMAC’s Reablement Service, STEPS, which stands for Short Term Enablement & Planning.
Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, we are required to provide all of our Service Users with an Information Pack.
The following details should provide you with everything you need to know about your new service, including:
- The Terms and Conditions of Service Delivery
- Details of who to contact if you wish to raise a complaint or compliment
- Service Registration Details
One of our Team leaders will be in touch to arrange a visit soon to go through the contents of this book with you and agree the goals you will work towards during your time with STEPS.
In the meantime, should you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact your:
Main Office on:
Bodmin – 01872326696
Liskeard – 01579341400
St Austell – 01872 324637
Truro – 01872 324379
Camborne – 01872 327116
Penzance – 01872 324707
Or your Area Manager on:
Claire Woolcock – 01872324780
Andrea Retallick – 01872 324399
Sarah Wickett – 01872 327781
We look forward to working with you!
Regards
The STEPS Team
Introduction: Aims & Objectives
Care & Support is provided by the STEPS Team, part of CORMAC Solution’s Limited.
Aims:
There are 3 main aims of the service:
- Promote the social well-being and independence of people living in the community.
- To work with the NHS, service users, carers, and other agencies to avoid unnecessary admission to hospital, and inappropriate placement on leaving hospital: and to maximise the health status and thus independence of those they support.
- To motivate people where their ability to improve is possible.
Objectives:
- To work with people to provide a service which meets their specific needs.
- To develop tailor-made packages of support to help achieve maximum independence within an agreed time frame.
- To help prevent unnecessary admissions to hospital.
- To support safe and prompt hospital discharge.
- To reduce the number of people requiring ongoing long term care and support, by developing individualised support plans which minimise dependency.
- To provide support for informal carers recognising their needs and rights.
- To respect the public and communities views and enable them to influence service developments.
We place the rights of people at the forefront of our philosophy of care and support, incorporating the following principles and ensuring our workers strive to promote and maintain:
- Independence: The right of the individual to have control over their own lives, to make their own decisions and take calculated risks, where appropriate.
- Privacy: The right of an individual to be left alone and uninterrupted if they so wish.
- Dignity: Preservation of self-respect and feelings of worth.
- Choice: The right of individuals to make their own decisions and influence the direction of their care.
- Rights: Keeping all basic human rights available to all the individuals whom we support.
- Reablement: Enabling individuals to realise their own outcomes and goals and helping them to achieve them in all aspects of daily living.
Details of Service Provided
STEPS is registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. Depending on the individuals Reablement/support plan this means we may help with:-
- Personal care, such as washing and dressing.
- Health care needs such as medication support & catheter care
- Diet & nutrition support
- Exercises and mobility practice to regain confidence
•CORMAC’s STEP Service provides services to adults who have an assessed need and identified Reablement potential.
•STEPS works with you to ensure that you are actively involved in working towards regaining your independence, our role is to support you to achieve your aims.
•We will work with you for up to 6 weeks and will review progress towards your independence each week, if we agree you have achieved your goal before the 6 weeks is up we may stop providing a service earlier, this will be discussed with you as you progress.
•We will provide initial support and Reablement to adults who are assessed by Cornwall Council or a Health Professional so that everyone has the opportunity to receive an intensive period of assessment and Reablement in their own home, with the aim ofmaximising your potential for independence.
•There will not be a charge for STEPS whilst Reablementpotential is an active part of an individual’s plan.
•At the end of the Reablement intervention a review will take place to establish if you have an ongoing support need and where this is identified we will work with you to ensure your ongoing package is as appropriate for your needs as possible. If you are eligible for ongoing services you may be liable to make a contribution towards the cost of these services.
•We work with older people, people with physical disabilities, people with sensory loss including dual sensory impairment, people with mental health problems, people with learning disabilities, people with dementia and people in need of palliative care support.
Services are provided 7 days a week between the hours of 0800 and 2000
Contact Details:
Should you have any problems with the service provided, please contact a Team Leader, through the main office on the following number:
Office Hours
Bodmin – 01872326696
Liskeard – 01579341400
St Austell – 01872 324637
Truro – 01872 324379
Camborne – 01872 327116
Penzance – 01872 324707
Main Office
Between 8.45 am – 5.15 pm Monday – Thursday
8.45 am – 4.45 pm Friday
After the above times & at weekends/bank holidays your contacttelephone number for urgent calls is:
Out of Office Hours
Tel No: 01208 251300
Alternatively you can contact the STEPS service by sending an email address below:
Email:
Bodmin –
Liskeard –
St Austell –
Truro –
Camborne –
Penzance -
(Please be aware emails will only be monitored during normal working hours)
Details of Staff
•Gina Pearson, Senior Manager County Services, is the overall Service Manager, based at CORMAC Solutions, Higher Trenant, Higher Trenant Road, Wadebridge, PL27 6TW.
The workforce is made up of 1 Senior Manager, 1 Area Manager, 5 Team Leaders, approximately 30 Support Workers and 1 Office Support Worker.
The Area Manager is responsible for the day to day operations of the service and is listed on the front page of this booklet. The Team Leaders are responsible for the supervision of the Support workers.
Qualifications & Experience
- The STEP Service takes the training and supervision of staff very seriously. We strive to ensure that all employees are adequately qualified and capable of providing care to the highest of standards.
- The Manager is qualified to a minimum of NVQ Level 4 or equivalent. The Team Leaders are all qualified to a minimum of NVQ Level 3 or have completed the ILM Level 3 qualification.
- All Support workers complete a 12 week induction programme on joining the service and are qualified to a minimum of NVQ Level 2 or are working towards this. They have all undertaken Reablement training. Staff receive regular internal training sessions reflecting the individual needs of the service users we support including Communication, a Person Centred Approach, Assistive Technology and Risk assessment, more general training sessions cover areas such as a Safeguarding Adults including Mental Capacity, Equality and Diversity and Dementia. All staff have completed the standard Manual Handling course and participate in regular refresher sessions.
- All staff members also receive regular supervision to ensure that they are performing to the standard expected of them.
- All staff work to the standards expected by the Care Quality Commissions.
A full copy of the STEPS Statement of Purpose is available on request through the Registered Manager.
Identifying your Reablement Workers:
All Support workers will be dressed in a Uniform and will carry a white plastic ID Badge which carries one of the Logo’s shown below:
Things you need to know
To cancel or postpone your service:
If you wish to cancel your services or plan to go away for a while, please let your Team Leader know as soon as possible.
Do not forget to let them know when you are returning so that the service can start again. (This can be done by a relative or a friend)
In your absence, Support workers are not allowed to enter your house, or hold keys to your property.
Gifts & Hospitality:
Support workers are not allowed to accept gifts or bequests. They must not be a beneficiary or act as an executor to your will, neither are they allowed to enter into any personal financial contracts with their service users.
Provision of Equipment:
Any Moving and Positioning equipment which your Support workers are required to use for part of your support plan will be provided through an approved agency and regularly serviced. If you purchase equipment privately which you wish the Support workers to use this will need to be agreed with your Team leader and you are must ensure that it is safe for use and regularly serviced.
Support workers are all provided with standard personal protective equipment such as gloves, aprons and paper towels. However, you will be expected to provide any cleaning materials that the Support workers may need to carry out the support required in your Reablement plan. Please ensure any cleaning materials provided are stored in their original containers with the labels intact.
Monitoring of your service:
Support workers performance is continuously monitored. With your permission monitoring will be done by a Team Leader while your Support worker is working in your home. This is to ensure that CORMAC’s standards are being followed.
Support workers must not undertake any task which might result in personal injury to you or themselves. You also have a responsibility for your own safety and should inform your carers if anything within your environment changes and could pose a risk for yourself or the Support workers.
Electronic Call Monitoring:
We are always looking at new ways of working to improve our service to Service Users. As a result, we are joining with other care providers in Cornwall to use a system to monitor the visits Support workers make to your home.
The system is very simple and uses your existing landline telephone. When your Support worker arrives and leaves, they will need to use your telephone to log the time on the system.
This is a via a 0800 number and is completely free of charge. It will take less than 20 seconds to complete and so will have no impact on your support
Quality Assurance:
We operate a quality assurance system to ensure the service meets the needs of the service user, this is by way of:-
- A Customer Satisfaction survey for all service users at the end of service provision.
- Regular supervision and feedback with Support workers.
- Spot checks on records, time sheets etc.
- Evaluating compliments and complaints received.
Visit Record Sheets:
In order to maintain good communication between Support workers, STEPS ask your permission to leave visit record sheets in your home along with your personalised Reablement plan. Your plan will detail the agreed tasks Support workers will support you with and any special requirements for your support. If you wish, you or your family members can also make entries on the visit record sheets.
What happens with my Information?
Records and information about you will be kept secure in keeping with The Data Protection Act 1998.
Your personal confidences will be respected, however there may be times when information you give may have to be shared with others. You need to be aware that any information shared with your Support workers may have to be shared with their manager, if it is felt there may be a risk to your health, safety or wellbeing. The Support workers are unable to promise you that information shared will be kept a secret between the two of you.
Information may be viewed by the Care Quality Commission Inspectors as part of the regulatory inspection process for all Domiciliary Care providers.
Insurance Arrangements:
CORMAC Solutions Ltd has full employers liability insurance. If any of your personal property should be damaged as a result of STEPS staff, you are entitled to make a claim for compensation. You should contact the Area manager in order to do so, please be aware in order to process a claim it may be necessary for a manager of the service to see the damage and if appropriate take photographic evidence.
Decision Making Arrangements?
As a service we will ensure that you and those who are acting on your behalf are involved with all important decisions about your care and support. All decisions made with your participation will be recorded as part of your Reablement plan.
If a decision regarding your care and support needs to be made in an emergency situation and you or those involved with your care are not available, we will make a decision in what we feel is your best interest and record the actions taken to make those decisions in your personal file.
There are certain individuals that will be involved in providing your care and support with STEPS and therefore will be involved in the decision making process with yourself.
The chain of command for any decision is to resolve things at the most local level – in the first instance discussions should be held with a Team Leader, then Area Manager, then Senior Services Manager, then Head of Service.
Safeguarding Concerns?
Everybody has the right to live free from violence and abuse, if you have concerns that someone is being abused you must tell us. Please contact your local office in the first instance, the contact details are on the front page of this booklet.
In addition to protecting the safety and wellbeing of our Service users, we also take the protection of our staff very seriously and as such have a Zero tolerance to violence and aggression towards our staff whilst they are providing your care. If a staff member feels threatened by you or a visitor to your house they are entitled to remove themselves from your property immediately at which time they are expected to notify their manager of the situation who will have further discussions with you.
Complaints & Compliments
How to Complain
You (or a person acting on your behalf) can raise your concern immediately with any of the staff who are involved in your care. This could be a Support worker, Team leader, Area Manager, or a worker from the care management team. Those members of staff will usually want an opportunity to put things right, by resolving problems quickly and efficiently and dealing with them locally.
If you want to raise the complaint elsewhere, you can do so by telephone, e-mail or online.
Complaints can also be made bywriting to:
Head of Division – Community Services
CORMAC Head Office,
Higher Trenant,
Wadebridge,
Cornwall
PL27 6TW
Your complaint will be formally recorded and we will contact you to obtain full details, including a discussion of the options for dealing with your complaint. We hope to find a way to deal with the issues raised, involving both yourself and the relevant service area as quickly and as easily as possible. This is what we would describe as ‘informal resolution’ and is typically used to solve a problem, provide an explanation or apology and will usually achieve a speedy conclusion to a complaint (i.e. within one or two days).
Step 1 – Complaint
If you wish to formally log your complaint we will manage this at step 1 of our complaints process.The local manager (Area Manager) will attempt to resolve matters to your satisfaction. A formal response will be made in writing to you by the local manager usually within 10 working days, and can be extended if necessary.
Step 2 – Complaint
If you are not happy with the response you have received at ‘step 1’ you can ask for the matter to be escalated up and dealt with at Step 2. This means an independent manager will review the matter and respond to you within 10 working days.
Independent Review
If you still feel that we have not dealt with the matter you can request for an independent review. This means a Director of CORMAC Solutions Ltd will review the case and try to resolve. The Director will interview you and any relevant staff members, before writing a report about the complaint, and their recommendations to resolve it. This report will be completed and a copy sent to you within a timescale agreed with them, usually within 20 working days. If it is not possible to complete the report within this timescale, an extension can be negotiated. We will always keep you and any members of staff involved in the investigation informed about this.
If you have exhausted the processes above your next route would be to contact the Local Government Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman
At any time, you also have the right to raise your complaint with the Ombudsman (LGO) at the following address:
Local Government Ombudsman
PO Box 4771
Coventry
CV4 0EH
Tel:0845 602 1983or by e-mail at
The LGO will usually require the complaint to have been dealt with by the Local Authority in accordance with the Authority’s process before they will investigate a complaint, unless there are specific reasons why this cannot be done. In this case the LGO can investigate a complaint.
Option 3:
You can also contact:
Care Quality Commission
CQC South West
Citygate
Gallowgate
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 4PA
Tel:03000 616161Fax:03000 616171 or
e-mail:
Support to You
You may ask another individual to make a complaint on your behalf.