A GUIDE TO

Address:

Telephone Number:

Email address:

Completion date:

Foreword.

Thisservice user guide and the Cumbria Care statement of purpose have been written to provide some information that will be helpful to you when using this service.

If you find it hard to read this, you could ask someone to help you, such as:

  • A member of your family.
  • A friend.
  • Your social worker.
  • A member of staff.
  • An independent advocate.
  • Someone else that you trust.

If you require this document in an alternative format please contact the manager.

This service works in line with Cumbria County Councils policies and procedures and promotes equality and diversity.

MANAGER OF THE SERVICE

RELEVANT QUALIFICATIONS

EMPLOYMENT BACKGROUND

FAMILY TREE

Head of Service

CountyManager

Operations Manager

Supported Living Manager/s

Supervisor/s

Support Workers

STAFFING

All our staff receive a comprehensive induction and regular training relevant to their role and responsibilities.

This includes: Person centred care planning, safeguarding, dementia awareness and other specialist training.

Please be aware that staff are unable to witness wills or any other legal documents.

AIMS OF OUR SERVICE

We aim to provide activities and opportunities, which enable personal development and growth.

  • Through person centred working and planning we will deliver the support that you need or want and assist you to make choices and decisions about your life. We will work in partnership with other individuals and agencies to meet the identified, holistic needs.

SERVICES PROVIDED

Cumbria Care Disability Mental Health supported living services are available to adults with a learning disability aged 18 or above, including people who have increased physical dependency, challenging behaviour, mental health needs and or multiple needs. The service operates for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and for 52 weeks of the year.

Services, which can be provided, include:

  • Personal care, including assistance to eat, bathe, use the toilet and related moving and handling tasks.
  • Support to run and manage your own home.
  • Support to manage your finances, including benefits claims, bill paying, and household and personal budgeting.
  • Support access health care services.
  • Support to access community and leisure facilities.

Supported living staff may also assist you to access necessary specialist services within the framework of your health action plan. These may include:

  • Community nurses
  • Physiotherapists
  • Occupational therapist
  • Speech and language therapist
  • Behaviour management specialists
  • District nurses and G.P’s

SERVICES WE ARE UNABLE TO PROVIDE

These can include examples such as: Invasive health care procedures such as injections.

Support staff cannot enter into individual arrangements with service users to carry out tasks which have not been included in the person centred care plan. Cumbria Care does not contract privately with services users. Cumbria Care reserves the right to refuse to provide services which:

  • present significant risk to staff
  • services not covered by County Council insurance
  • those services we are not registered for

ADMISSION

If you are interested and wish to join our service then you will need to contact Adult and Local Services.

CONTACTING THE SERVICE AND OTHER AGENCIES

You can contact your local office by telephoning or you are welcome to visit the office during office hours. There is an on call supervisor who works every evening, weekends and bank holidays.

The registered manager can be contacted Monday to Friday on (between 9.00am amd 5.00pm).

Whilst you are using Cumbria Care supported living services you may wish to contact other agencies, who could help you to:

  • Make a suggestion or complaint (see telephone number further on)
  • Get help or advice
  • Get more information about something

Support staff will help you to contact any agency you choose; or you may wish to do this independently or with the help of someone else that you trust.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Contracts usually have a lot of very important information in them such as your tenancy agreement. This can make them difficult to read and understand. Where possible Cumbria Care and other agencies will write these documents in a way, which you can easily understand. Sometimes this will not be possible. If you do not understand any document, which is about you or your home, you could ask one of these people to help:

  • A member of your family
  • A friend
  • A member of staff
  • An independent advocate
  • Someone else that you trust

Cumbria Care provides packages of domiciliary care, which have been commissioned by Adult and Local Services. Cumbria Care does not contract privately with service users. Cumbria Care reserves the right to refuse to provide or continue to provide services which present significant health and safety risk to care staff, services not covered by County Council insurance and those for which we have insufficient staff or resources. In the event that there is a health and safety risk Cumbria Care are entitled to withdraw the service immediately. If in the event that Cumbria Care has insufficient staff or resources we will inform the care manager (social worker), the service user and or family as soon as practicably possible.

YOUR HOME

The home in which you live will not be owned by Cumbria Care.

You may own it; if this is the case, the information required by staff to help you look after your home will be recorded in your support plan.

A Housing Provider or landlord may own it; if this is the case you will have a tenancy agreement. This document is a legal agreement between you and the landlord. It tells you what the landlord will and will not do to help you in your home. The document also tells you about your responsibilities as a tenant. If you live in a home as tenant it is important that you know the following:

  • The landlord does not control the staff that support you.
  • If you are unhappy about the way your home is looked after by the landlord Cumbria Care staff will help you to make a complaint.

In whatever type of property you live it is important that you know these things:

  • Cumbria Care staff will help you to understand your rights and responsibilities as a homeowner or tenant.
  • If you wish to have a different supported living provider you do not have to move home.
RUNNING YOUR HOME

Cumbria Care staff that support you in your home will help you to run things in the way that you want. They will do this in the following ways:

  • Staff will regularly discuss the way your home is run with you. If you share your home with other tenants, staff will try to ensure that everyone shares and helps in running the home.
  • Staff will support you to personalise your own home.

When you live in your own home you will have the same rights as any other tenant. Staff will help you to understand and uphold these rights. They include the following:

  • To have a key to your home and to decide who has spare keys and who comes into your home.
  • To stop people entering your home or room without your permission.
  • For all people coming into your home or room to knock before entering.
  • To be able to use the shared parts of your home freely.
  • To have friends and visitor and for them to stay the night if you choose.
  • To be able to live safely and securely with other tenants.
  • For you home to be safe and secure.

When you share a home with other tenants some of the choices, which you wish to make, may be different to those of the other people that you live with. Cumbria Care support staff will try to help all the people who share a home to work together so that everyone is happy with or understands why choices have been made.

TENANCY AGREEMENT

This document is a legal agreement between you and the landlord.

It tells you what the landlord will and will not do to help you in your home. It is the landlord’s responsibility to make sure the building is safe and properly maintained. The document also tells you about your responsibilities as a tenant and to respect the rights of other tenants to the peaceful enjoyment in their home.

INSURANCE

Cumbria Care

Cumbria Care has public liability and employer’s liability insurance which covers employees injured at work, even in the service users home, provided that they are carrying out County Council business. Cumbria Care is not responsible for the insurance of the property. The tenant or representative should seek assurance from the landlord regarding this.

The landlord

The landlord who owns the property that you live in has insurance for only the property and not for its contents.

Your own insurance

Neither Cumbria Care nor the landlord will insure the private possessions, which you own. You should arrange this for yourself. You may wish to have someone to help you.

You could ask:

  • Your Social Worker
  • A member of your family
  • A friend or someone else that you trust
  • An advocate

Cumbria Care staff will be able to help you to contact any of these people, but they are not allowed to help you to choose your insurance provider.

It is your responsibility or your representatives to insure the home and its contents including any care related equipment e.g. hoists.

PERSON CENTRED CARE PLANNING

In consultation with you and those people important to you we will develop a person centred care plan that clearly identifies how we will support you. The plan will be reviewed with you in accordance with Cumbria Care policies and procedures.

Some of the information which will be included in your person centred care / support plan are:

  • Administration of medication
  • Support required
  • Activities / Hobbies
  • Advocacy
  • Health and Wellbeing
  • People important to you
  • The people or type of people you would like to live with.
  • The type and kind of home in which you want to live.
  • Things about your religion or culture, which are important to you.

YOUR RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

As an adult you have rights. This means that you should be treated in certain ways, if you are not you should be able to do something about it.

As an adult you have responsibilities. This means that you must behave in certain ways.

Cumbria Care staff will help you to understand your rights and responsibilities.

Rights / Responsibility
-To be treated with dignity and respect and acknowledges your cultural and personal preferences.
-To be consulted regarding the quality of care in a person centered way.
-To receive a quality service.
-To have your personal information handled confidentially and have access to all your documentation.
-To have access to the compliments, comments and complaints procedures.
-You have the right to specialist equipment which will be documented in your person centred care plan.
- You will be notified of any changes to the service, organisation, and manager and where possible appropriate consultation will be held with you and / or your representatives and staff.
-To support you to have access to medical or other specialist health care requirements.
- Safety assessed needs. / - To treat staff and other service users with courtesy and respect.
- To respect the wishes and privacy of other service users.
- To request that only the service agreed on the person centered care plan to be carried out.
- To ensure you keep us informed of any changes to your next of kin details.
- To inform staff if you are unhappy or wish to make a complaint or raise a concern.
- To ensure any specialist equipment is maintained and serviced annually or within the manufacturer’s guidelines.
- To conform to the Cumbria County Council’s ‘no smoking’ policy at all times and to respect the Cumbria County Councils request not to smoke when staff are present in your home.
-To work with staff when making decisions that involves taking risks so that the risks can be carefully balanced against the benefits and potential harms.
-You must not enter into any private financial arrangement with staff or offer any gifts.
-To maintain the household to safe hygiene standards as far as possible.
- To inform the Social Worker or Cumbria Care if they no longer require the service.

OUR RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Rights / Responsibility
-To be expected to work to the agreed person centred care plan.
-To have staff treated with dignity and respect.
-To receive timely information from service users, their representatives or social workers regarding
Person centred careplan changes
Cancellations and restarts
Other requirements
-To be able to gain access for visits
-Cumbria Care staff have the right to work in a safe healthy environment. / -To report issues of concern to you, the social workers, family and advocates where appropriate.
-To maintain a secure confidential system of record keeping and to allow appropriate access to information.
-To deliver a quality service this is audited and monitored.
-To comply with adult protection procedures.
-Our staff are expected to comply with the County Council and Cumbria Carepolicies and procedures.
-All gifts / bequests or offers of such must be reported to the line manager.
- Cumbria Care staff ensures that the wishes and choices of service users in regard to their life style are promoted and respected.

ADVOCACY SUPPORT

Sometimes you will have hard decisions to make, or you may wish to make choices with which other people disagree. When this happens you might wish to contact an Independent Advocate.

This person can help you make difficult choices and can help you explain to other people why you have made that choice or decision.Staffwill help you to contact an advocate within the area that you live.

CHARGES / PAYMENTS

Part of your Adult and Local Servicesassessment will be to identify if you are eligible for service charges. Your contract will confirm the conditions of payment.

The following are NOT covered within your assessment:

  • privately arranged chiropody, dental and ophthalmic services
  • alternative therapies, i.e. aromatherapy, reflexology
  • private telephone facility and billing
  • dry cleaning
  • personal clothing alterations and personaltoiletries
  • newspapers, periodicals and stationery items
  • cigarettes and alcohol
  • private transport costs, i.e. taxi
  • transport and admission costs attached to personal interest outings
  • meals provided to visitors (nominal charge is operational)
  • television licence for your own room
  • personal internet access
  • non free view television

POLICY AND PROCEDURES

Cumbria Care operates policies designed to comply with all relevant legislation and best practice. If you wish to see any of the policies and procedures please ask a member of staff.

IN AN EMERGENCY

The service will have in place an emergency plan which will hold details and arrangements to be followed in the event of a major incident/emergency. If you wish to see this plan please ask a member of staff.

QUALITY ASSURANCE

Staff work to policies and procedures set down by Cumbria Care which are reviewed and updated as necessary. These procedures tell all Cumbria Care staff how certain tasks should be completed. All procedures are written down and you can read them if you wish. You could ask someone you trust to help you understand them. Staff are regularly checked to make sure that they are following the procedures correctly.

We are inspected by the Care Quality Commission.Copies of their reports are available on request or via the internet

Other inspections are carried out by Cumbria County Council. These include:

  • Internal quality audits
  • Financial audits

HEALTH AND SAFETY

The staff that support you in your home will provide you with advice and guidance on keeping healthy and safe. They will do this in the following ways:

  1. Provide you with information about keeping healthy and safe. They will help you to understand the information that you are given. Information that they might give you could be about:
  2. Diet
  3. Medication
  4. Alcohol
  5. Drugs
  6. Sex
  7. Home and personal security
  8. Fire safety
  1. Help you to access other people who can provide you with information on keeping healthy and safe. This might include:
  • Your doctor
  • Other health professionals
  • The police

CONFIDENTIALITY

At all times staff are expected to respect the confidentiality of all service users. Staff will not share or discuss service user information outside their work.

In order to protect the welfare of the service user, on occasions it maybe necessary to disclose information to senior staff and other professionals. Examples include:

  • Safeguarding issues (e.g. abuse)
  • Health and Safety
  • Medical concerns

If staff need to pass on information to a service user’s G.P, other professionals or next of kin the service user will be informed in advance where possible.

Your personal files are secured in a lockable facility and access restricted to appropriate persons. Access to the files should be restricted to the following:

  • Service user, who will, where necessary, be provided with support to interpret the file content appropriately.
  • Service user representative, i.e. an individual whom the service user recognises as advocating on their behalf.
  • Staff members requiring access for reference, information gathering or recording purposes.
  • Allocated Health or Social Care Professionals as above.

COMPLIMENTS, COMMENTS AND COMPLAINTS