A Customers Guide ToThe Leading Care Company
A Customers Guide To

The Customers Guide to The Leading Care Company provides our customers and their families with all the information possible about our company and how we are here to help and assist.
It can be read on this page, downloaded or read below, however, if you have any questions for us please use our contact page or call us direct on 01753 369977.
- We aim to give the best possible service to our Customers, in a trusted caring, responsive and effective manner.
- We put people at the centre of our Domiciliary Care in their own homes because ‘Home is where the Heart is’.
- We value our Customers and would like to share some expectations with you.
- We will always work hard to exceed those expectations.
Download your Customers Guide
Hover your mouse over the PDF Icon and right click. Select ‘Save As’ from the menu that opens up and chose a location on your computer to save the Customer Guide to.
Once saved to your computer you will be able to open, read and print the document.
You can also read the document on this page or via the flip book below.
This Guide Will Introduce You and Your Family To Our Family
This Guide will introduce you and your Family to our Family:
About Us
- The Leading Care Company, about us, our aims and our values.
- Regions of the UK that we operate in.
- Services that can be provided.
- Our commitments to you.
About You
- Developing together a personalised care and support plan.
- Amending your care and support plan.
- About your Care Worker.
- Visitation schedules.
- Health and safety procedures to safeguard you and your property.
- Medication and best practice.
- Recording key events.
- Staff recruitment.
- Flexibility: What to do if you need to postpone, suspend, or cancel a visit.
- Your information and Confidentiality.
Contact details and Administration
- Office hours and important contact details.
- Insurance cover.
- Charges and Payments.
- Live in services.
- What happens if our business closes or the ownership changes?
- Managing and assessing the quality of care provided.
- Getting help to complain.
- The reasons we may withdraw our services.
- What we expect from our Customers.
Confirming receipt
- Please sign and date this introduction to The Leading Care Company.
The Customers Guide
About Us - The Leading Care Company
Welcome to THE LEADING CARE COMPANY and thank you for choosing us.
It is our aim to provide outstanding care and support for individuals in their own homes.
Often, we see that it is vulnerable members of our society who use our services, so wherever possible we will offer choices and develop opportunities for individuals in order to support their interests and needs. We aim to assist our Customers with their daily activities and make home visits meaningful, and something to look forward to.
Our programmes always aspire to give the highest quality of care and support, and individuals who use our services will experience personalised, responsive, effective and timely care within their home environment.
We understand that every individual has the right to live as full and meaningful a life as possible, and we place high value on dignity and independence within a safe and secure environment.
We recruit experienced colleagues, and train our staff to have the attitudes and values which are so important in our field of expertise, and we place high levels of importance on such things as:
- Compassion.
- Empathy.
- Empowerment.
- Teamwork.
- Community spirit.
- Trust and Reliability.
Our services are available in the Berkshire region, primarily Windsor, Slough, Maidenhead and areas within proximity.
We have been working in this area for several years and have built an enviable reputation.
The company address is:
The Leading Care Company, Office 14 Baylis Business Centre, Baylis House, Stoke Poges Lane, Slough, Berkshire, SL1 3PB
Telephone Number: 01753 369977
Email Address: tlc@theleadingcarecompany.co.uk
Registered Company: Harold Fitzroy Ltd t/a The Leading Care Company (Company Number 09221738).
The types of services we provide
The Leading Care Company provides a flexible range of personalised domiciliary care services including:
- Assistance to get up in the morning and with going to bed at night.
- Assistance with general mobility.
- Working with your local Pharmacy to collect medicines and help with taking medication.
- Lightening the load with shopping, housework and laundry.
- Preparing, cooking and serving food and drink whilst also taking into consideration any dietary requirements and preferences.
- Toilet and bathroom arrangements with dignity.
- Monitoring skin health.
- Help with socialising and social visits to friends and family.
- Visiting clubs, religious centres, day centres or enablement of other cultural activities.
- Personal care or physical wellbeing check-ups.
- Support at pre-arranged times including short visits or monitoring through the day or night.
We provide care and support services to the following groups:
- Age 18 and over.
- Those with sensory loss or impairment.
- People with physical disabilities.
- People with learning disabilities or autism.
- Individuals with mental health problems.
- Individuals living with dementia.
- Those who need assistance due to the misuse of drugs or alcohol.
Our commitments to you
We Will
- Conduct ourselves with integrity and respect our Customer’s dignity.
- Offer consistent and reliable service.
- Monitor the quality of our service and regularly ask for your views.
- Provide personalised care and support and respect personal beliefs.
- Listen and understand your requirements.
- Employ compassionate, capable and reliable staff.
- Train our staff to be knowledgeable about your needs and work to best practices.
- Always endorse a no discrimination policy.
- Conduct ourselves in a non-judgemental way.
- Always take swift action in response to any concerns about your safety or any complaints.
- Respect your privacy and keep information we hold about you confidential.
- Enhance your independence whenever possible.
Your Care and Support
You may have been referred to us by a local council, by social services, or by a health care organisation. If this is the case, then your care needs may already have been assessed and a community care and support plan may already be in place.
With your permission we would need to see this information, in order to continue to meet your needs.
If an assessment has not yet been completed, or you are a private customer, then we will need to consult with you and possibly your family, and/or any social care or health services representative with a view to assessing your specific needs and creating a personalised care and support plan.
A qualified member of our staff will arrange to visit you at home in order to explain our services, and to agree with you the care and support that is to be provided. This will involve a confidential chat about any concerns you may have, and the ways you would prefer to be supported in your daily activities and routines.
We will need to record this in your personal care and support plan, a copy of which will always be kept in your home.
The Leading Care Company would only commence in home support once we have obtained a written consent to your personal care and support plan. In addition, we would aim to complete a full risk assessment within 2 days of your service commencing.
If palliative care is to be provided, then we may carry out a summary plan to ensure that immediate needs are met with areas such as pain relief, and daily routines, whilst working with you, your family, and any appointed representatives to ensure that we have the relevant support systems in place.
Amending your care and support plan
Your personalised care and support plan will be regularly reviewed taking input from those invested in your care. This usually happens every six months but can be on a more regular basis if required.
The Care Workers will only follow the instructions written into the personalised care and support plan. So, they will not be able to carry out any additional tasks and are not permitted to amend/cancel/add visit times or agree changes to your care plan unless they are formally approved by the office.
If you would like to change your care and support plan, please contact our office and a member of our team will assist.
Your Care Worker
We aim to have enough numbers of care staff with the appropriate blend of skills to respond effectively to the needs of our customers, and we take the utmost care in seeking to match those skills to your needs.
We recognise that the process of matching a Care Worker to a Customer becomes even more important where a Customer has specific needs arising from specific conditions. In this instance, The Leading Care Company will ensure that the Care Worker allocated has the appropriate interpersonal and multidisciplinary skills.
In addition, we take similar care to match individuals from various ethnic, social, cultural or religious groups and we try to make use of a Care Worker’s ability to communicate in the language of choice of our Customers.
All of our Care Workers are fully trained with a combination of classroom theory, hands on training and online work, in addition to ongoing refresher courses.
The Leading Care Company values certain attributes as essential for our Team of Care Workers to possess. We look for these qualities during recruitment and emphasise them during induction training.
- Kindness and empathy. Our Customers will be made to feel it is perfectly fine to do things at their own pace.
- Pleasant, Friendly and Personable. We know a Carer may be the only person you meet for some time, so this can impart a sense of wellbeing in your daily routine.
- Being a good listener.
- Punctuality.
- Able to take responsibility. Our staff will be able to take responsibility for their own decisions and actions, their welfare and the welfare of others.
- Ability to multitask. Our Care Workers are expected to work effectively on their own or sometimes as part of a very small team, whilst at the same time ensuring the level of care remains very high.
- Willingness to go the extra mile.
- Ability to think quickly. Situations can arise which require prompt action.
- Willingness to learn. We encourage Care Workers to develop their skills and knowledge.
Unless there is an emergency, we would always introduce your Care Worker(s) to you prior to commencement of your service. The Care Worker will already be familiar with your personal care and support plan and at the end of each visit, they will make a note in the daily visit record about the care and support they have given to you.
You will always know the name of your Care Worker and all Care Workers employed by The Leading Care Company will have an identity badge which for identification purposes they must show before coming into your home.
In addition, the Care Worker is supplied with disposable gloves and aprons to minimise the risk of cross infection.
If your Care Worker is not available
We always endeavour to ensure that we have enough staff to cover the times when your usual Care Workers are away from work. We will tell you in advance of any changes, and if the change is to be permanent, then we will always introduce the new Care Worker to you in advance.
We always look to keep the number of Care Workers who visit you to an absolute minimum, as we feel this is conducive to building improved levels of confidence and trust.
Timing of visits
Care visit times are approximate and may vary up to 30 minutes either side of the normal visitation time. If your Care Worker does not arrive at the expected time, please allow at least 30 minutes for traffic hold-ups or other types of delay.
After this time, please telephone the offices of The Leading Care Company so that we can check what has happened, and to make alternative arrangements if necessary.
The contact details are on page 10 of this document.
Your service will be coordinated by a dedicated team who are contactable at all times.
Assessing any risks to your personal safety
If you have decided to have care provided in your own home, then you should be aware that this may carry an element of risk as the Care Worker is unlikely to be with you at all times.
You and your Family may feel however, that in order to retain your independence a measure of risk is acceptable.
Nevertheless, The Leading Care Company would like to ensure that everybody concerned with your welfare understands the situation and has thought about it responsibly.
So, we will carry out a risk assessment, in order to ascertain reasonableness and necessity and may make some suggestions in order to keep your safety at the highest possible levels.
For example, if we assess that an individual may not be able to respond in a timely way and needs assistance with evacuation if there is a fire hazard, then we would liaise with the Fire Brigade and other relevant agencies to follow their fire safety guidance.
It might be necessary in some cases to delay the start of your service in order to make the required changes, but this would be a last resort.
How we keep you safe and protect you from harm
We carefully select our care staff and carry out checks before they start work.
All Care Workers are then fully trained to carry out their role safely and to recognise signs of abuse. They are also trained to listen to any concerns that you may have about your own safety.
The Leading Care Company has clear procedures for reporting and with discretion, dealing with any suspicions of abuse. Care Workers have a duty to report any concerns, accidents and serious incidents to their Manager.
Customers or their Families can also speak to a member of our management team, the local authority or to the Care Quality Commission if they are concerned about possible abuse.
Procedures to safeguard customers’ property
For reasons of security we never look after nor hold keys to customers’ homes. If special arrangements need to be made to access your home, we encourage you to use a key safe.
Support with your medicines
Our customers receive safe and effective support with their medication needs from competent staff. Our medication procedures ensure that you will receive the right medicines, at the correct time and in the prescribed dosage.
Records of Key Events & Activities
Your care or support worker will record details of significant events and activities during his or her work shifts daily. You, members of your Family, or a representative will be informed of the contents of the records and have access to them. Such records will, upon your agreement, be kept in a secure place in your own home.
- Time and date of the shift.
- Changes in circumstances.
- Medication: time taken, dosage and any assistance given.
- Any accident or untoward incident.
- Any other details that would be useful to the carer on the next shift.
- Any day to day money transactions on your behalf such as shopping.
These records are kept for one month or until termination of service, after which time they are transferred, again with your permission, to the premises of The Leading Care Company or other relevant bodies for safe keeping. (e.g. health and social care agency, or local authority).
If you, your Family or representatives object to the records being kept in your home, then we will request you or such other party to sign a statement to that effect.
Staff Recruitment
New recruits to the organisation must undergo various checks and are confirmed in their posts only after satisfactory outcomes.
These checks include veracity and accuracy of material information regarding identity, content of CVs or references, qualifications and course certificates, declarations of fitness (physical and mental), the Sex Offenders Register, General Social Care Council register, criminal convictions, status with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) or equivalent body.
Postponing, suspending or cancelling the service
If you wish to change or cancel a single visit, then please ring the office and give at least 48 hours’ notice. If we receive less than 48 hours’ notice, we will charge you the full cost for that visit. This includes a situation where you choose to send a Care Worker away early.
You must give 28 days’ notice if you wish to cancel your service otherwise cancellation charges may apply. If you are unable to give the required notice because of an emergency or unforeseen circumstance, then each case will be judged on merit.
Your information and Confidentiality
The nature of our business requires that with consent, we collect some information about you. This information will be used solely for the purposes intended, which is the delivery of our services to you. It is recognised that much of this information is personal and sensitive and that you have a right to privacy and dignity.
We therefore have procedures in place to protect your information, and to ensure that it is handled and stored in ways that are in line with the Data Protection Act, the Human Rights Act and other relevant legislation.
Our staff understand the importance of following our policies and procedures when handling personal information and they are instructed not to disclose such information, either during or post-employment.
Exceptions are made where a disclosure becomes necessary, for example when sharing information with their manager, or sharing with health care agencies, or simply to keep you safe. It may also be if required to do so by law.
The Leading Care Company provides training to all staff on data security and protection and proper information sharing.
The information we collect and any other relevant data, is held in either written or electronic format and you are entitled to access your personal details at any time subject to reasonable prior notice.
So that we can ensure that confidential information is only accessed by those individuals that have a legitimate right of access, we undertake monitoring on a regular basis. Audits are also carried out to detect whether confidentiality has been breached.
As a service user, you will have access to our relevant policies and procedures which specify, inter alia, circumstances of any breach and the process of dealing with these.
By agreeing to use our services, you hereby consent to the use of your personal data by The Leading Care Company and its representatives, in order to facilitate your care.
Contact Details and Administration
We operate as Harold Fitzroy Ltd trading as: The Leading Care Company.
The company is registered to provide care at home services by the CQC.
The Care Quality Commission regularly inspect our services to check that they are safe and that we are meeting quality standards. You can view a copy of the latest inspection report by going to their website or asking our office to send this to you.
Your team
- Director: Kieran Rabbitt.
- Care Manager: Eveline Hackney.
- Office Manager: Nazneen Hussain.
- Assistant Manager: Abi Canvin.
- Coordinator: Claire McLaughlin.
- Supervisor: Kerri Russell.
- Most importantly our Team of Care Workers and Field Care Supervisors.
Office hours
Our offices are open from 09:00 to 17.00 Monday to Friday during which time we will be pleased to discuss any aspect of your care. Telephone number 01753 369977.
We also have an emergency on-call number should you need to contact us out of office hours. This is also 01753 369977.
Insurance cover
The Leading Care Company has public liability insurance and employer’s liability insurance. However, we do not insure Customer’s homes or contents. We strongly recommend that this is covered by the homeowner.
Charges
We publish a list of charges and provide a copy to our customers and/or their representatives as part of their terms and conditions of business.
You will receive an invoice every Month, which you must pay within 7 days.
Methods of payment are included in your terms and conditions.
You can request a statement of your account at any time. We will give a minimum of 28 days written notice of any changes in the fees that you need to pay.
Live in Care Services
As an alternative to residential care, The Leading Care Company can provide, by arrangement, live-in care services.
This means we will provide a Care Worker to live permanently in your home and provide the support you need to both day and night. Our live-in care service supports your independence to remain at home, in familiar surroundings and in your community.
What happens if our business closes or the owner changes?
We will give you a minimum of 28 days written notice if the owner changes or if our business needs to close. If the business is planning to close, we would provide advice and support to enable you to make alternative arrangements. This includes liaising with the Adult Social Care Department of the local authority where needed.
Managing the quality of our service
We have comprehensive policies and procedures for managing risks and to make sure that we provide a safe, high quality service. These are inspected by the Care Quality Commission who are the Industry Regulator.
Their Contact Name and address is:
Care Quality Commission, National Customer Service Centre, Citygate, Gallowgate, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 4PA.
Telephone Number: 03000 616161
For more information about how we work you can ask to see copies of any of our policies or procedures.
Assessing the Quality of our Services
The Leading Care Company welcomes Customer involvement in every aspect of our care and support. We welcome your feedback on any aspect of our service so that we can improve our services.
We will regularly ask you for your views on our services including:
- An annual survey
- Regular visits by a supervisor.
If you would like to see a copy of our annual quality monitoring report, please let us know.
Getting help to complain
We value and encourage feedback on the services we deliver and recognise that on occasions something may not go according to plan. We also recognise the right of service users or their representatives to make a complaint or bring any shortcomings to our attention.
Our management team will be at your disposal for any support you may need in order to lodge such complaints and any such matters will be looked into in confidence and attended to promptly and fairly in accordance with our policies and procedures and relevant laws and regulations.
You can also be confident that no action or measures taken by us in this respect will impact adversely on the care we provide.
Reasons we may withdraw our service
We would only withdraw a service as a last resort, and only after investigating all other options. This may be necessary under the following circumstances:
- It is no longer safe for the Customer or Care Worker
- The Customer, Family member or another visitor to the property abuses, harasses, threatens or intimidates our staff
- The Customer does not pay their invoices on time
- We are unable to meet certain expectations, though we will always endeavour to do so and record efforts in this respect for the benefit of all concerned.
What we expect from our Customers
The welfare of our in-home staff and office team is very important to us.
The Leading Care Company also has legal responsibilities for their health and safety, so we will not put any member of staff into situations where they are either at risk or where they are subject to harassment or intimidation.
In this context, please be aware that The Leading Care Company has a zero-tolerance policy to threats, intimidation or harassment of our staff and reserve the right to withdraw services should the well being of our staff be deemed to be at risk.
The Leading Care Company and The Care Quality Commission.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is The Independent Regulator of Health and Social care in England.
A full report about The Leading Care Company can be found on the CQC website by clicking here.
Who Are The CQC?
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care of the United Kingdom. It was established in 2009 to regulate and inspect health and social care services in England.
It was formed from three predecessor organisations:
- The Healthcare Commission.
- The Commission for Social Care Inspection.
- The Mental Health Act Commission.
The CQC’s stated role is to make sure that hospitals, care homes, dental and general practices and other care services in England provide people with safe, effective and high-quality care, and to encourage them to improve. It carries out this role through checks it carries out during the registration process all new care services must complete, inspections and monitoring of a range of data sources that can indicate problems with services.
