This section tells you how we make sure you receive the help and support you need at home.
Your rights
All our home carers will respect you and maintain certain standards when working in your home.
They will:
- assist you to do as much as you can on your own to maintain independence
- treat you with dignity and respect
- be friendly, courteous and efficient
- ask you how you would like them to carry out your care
- complete all the tasks listed in your care plan and check that you are happy with the way they have been carried out
- be trained to perform these tasks in a professional manner
- receive regular supervision and support from their managers
- work to health and safety standards
- maintain hygiene standards
- replace household items in their original place after use
- only share personal and private information from your care and support plan with other healthcare and social care professionals when you have consented
- have a personal identity badge at all times and show it to you when they arrive at your home
As well as meeting the above service standards, we will:
- carry out checks to make sure that your home is safe to live in (for example, there are no loose or hanging electrical wires and nothing on the floor that you could trip over)
- carry out background checks on all our Home Carers at time of employment (for your safety and security)
- work closely with other people involved in your care such as district nurses and your relatives to ensure you get the best possible service
Your responsibilities
To help us to provide an effective Care at Home Service for everyone, we would like you to:
- Treat your Home Carer with respect, and ensure they are not at risk from verbal or physical abuse. Home carers are required to report all incidents (especially those that involve verbal or physical abuse which will be passed to a line manager for further action)
- co-operate with your Home Carers
- advise us of your preferences on how you would prefer us to support you
- advise us if you have any concerns about the care you receive
- advise us if you have any compliments to make about our service
What makes a good service?
- you are treated with respect by your Home Carer
- your needs are met with the assistance of your Home Carer
- your Home Carer is a good communicator and knows how to have discussions with you
- your Home Carer asks you what your preferences are (for example, what you like to eat)
- your Home Carer arrives on time or lets you know if they are running late, and completes all the tasks in your care and support plan
- the service is flexible and sensitive to your needs
- your Home Carer will become familiar with your routine, however, never take it for granted that your preferences haven’t changed, so they should ask you regularly, if you are happy with the order in which they complete the tasks they are assisting you with
- your Care at Home Organiser should regularly monitor the home carers they are assigning to you to ensure their skills match with your needs
- you get a clear care and support plan that lists all your needs, and your Home Carer follows this plan
- it is easy for you to complain or comment about the service
- you are made aware of reports written by regulatory bodies such as the Care Inspectorate when they inspect our Care at Home Service
