A Customers Guide To
The Leading Care Company

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.