About You
Help us plan your care
We want you to participate in the planning and delivery of your own care to ensure that, as far as possible, your care enhances the quality of your everyday life. By listening to you and finding out exactly what you want, we aim to help you achieve the quality of life you are looking for. Please see Care Planning.
This partnership approach often extends to your close family and friends. As long as you are happy for us to do so and are able to make the decision, we will encourage your relatives and friends to participate in your life and be involved in planning your care.
What you can expect from our service
Allan-Ross Nursing & Homecare Ltd is committed to the delivery and provision of a service of personal care and support customised to your individual needs. You may therefore expect the following from Allan-Ross:
- To be actively involved in developing an individual Care Plan to meet your personal needs that is also responsive to changes in your needs.
- To be given a written Agreement regarding the care and tasks that our Carers will carry out for you, the hours to be worked per day and the period of time that the Service will last.
- To be allocated a Co-ordinator who will oversee the implementation of your Care Plan and to ensure that the Services as agreed are delivered.
- To be allocated a trained Carer who has excellent references concerning his or her honesty, trustworthiness and ability to undertake the Care duties.
- Wherever possible, to be allocated the same Carer(s) to undertake the Care duties in the hours agreed.
- To be informed, in advance if possible, of any circumstances which may prevent the Carer from attending when expected, or of the need to change the Carer or hours of work for any reason.
- To be asked by the Allan-Ross for any comments or suggestions to improve the Care Service, to be actively involved in the review of your individual Care Plan, and to have these suggestions reviewed by Allan-Ross‘s management and acted upon where possible.
- To receive a Service that is respectful of your individual circumstances, personal preferences, standards and cultural needs, and is flexible and non-discriminatory.
- To receive a Service that is respectful of your right to take risks and to make informed choices with due regard to health and safety within your home environment.
- To receive a Service that is respectful of your privacy, dignity and independence.
- To have a Health & Safety Risk Assessment performed at your home within one week of commencement of Service, and at regular intervals thereafter, and to be kept informed of findings and recommendations for improving the safety and/or hygiene of your environment.
- To be informed of how to make a complaint, or comment about any aspect of the Care Service with which you are not satisfied, and to receive assurance that the complaint will be treated with the strictest confidence.
‘Have your say’
Allan-Ross Nursing & Homecare Ltd encourages you to ‘have your say’ about any aspect of our service to you.
Hopefully, your relationship with us will be without problems, but you are entitled to make a complaint about any aspect of our service at any time, directly to the Homecare department either by telephone or in writing. You may telephone or write to the Director of Allan-Ross Nursing & Homecare if you feel your complaint cannot be resolved verbally.
We do, however, receive far more compliments than complaints. If you would like to pay us a compliment just call us at the office or drop us a line. Please let your carers know if you are happy too, they all work very hard and no one objects to being complimented!
You can fill in our annual Service Quality Questionnaire. We welcome any suggestions you may have to change the way we deliver our services. In order to monitor the performance of our Care staff we may ask you to comment on their individual practice and perhaps allow assessments during your Care visit (we would always ask your permission first). You will later receive a letter from us outlining proposed changes to our service as a result of your views.
You and your family or friends can come to our Service Users & Carers Forum meetings and have your say and hear what is important to our other service users and their families too. These meetings are held quarterly at our offices at 56 High St, Tranent. Ask your Carer when the next meeting is if you would like to attend. You will be made very welcome.
Our Homecare team does regular checks, either by telephone or by visiting you at home, to make sure the care you receive is appropriate and what you need. These are called Care Reviews. Your family is welcome to participate in this process. It is another opportunity for you to comment on how good or bad you think our service is.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Below are some question and answers commonly asked. If you do not find what you are looking for, please don’t hesitate to contact us and one of our friendly staff will be happy to answer any of your questions in confidence.
Q. What can I expect within my service time?
A. All that is agreed on your Care Plan and to be provided with polite, honest, trustworthy and appropriately trained staff and an efficient and reliable service.
Q. What is personal care?
A. This is any assistance you need to wash, bathe, help with your oral/denture hygiene, personal grooming, assistance to dress and choose clothing appropriate to inside and outside climate.
Q. Will the same carer continue with my care?
A. We are very concerned that you receive good continuity of care, however we ask for your patience at times when we have to change your carer. We will always try to inform you in advance. We realise it is difficult to receive good care if different people show up every week. Our carers work in area teams, and we introduce you to all the members of the area team. This means that if your regular carer has to take time off, your replacement carer will be familiar to you.
Q. What if I don’t like the carer?
A. We try our best to match a compatible carer with each of our service users at the outset, but if you don’t like a particular carer we will try other carers until you are happy. We will introduce you to carers who work in your ‘area team’ to allow you to become familiar with possible replacement carers to minimise disruption at times of staff sickness, holidays etc.
Q. Can the staff stay longer or come at a different time if I need them?
A. Although the staff may on the odd occasion have extra time available, it is not normally feasible to arrange this without prior notification.
Q. What if I am ill when the carer is here?
A. The carer will assess you and determine whether he/she thinks you need medical attention. You have the right to refuse medical attention, although our carers have a ‘duty of care’ to ensure that you receive the best attention possible. They will also inform our on-call staff and, where appropriate, your family. Unfortunately, our carers cannot always stay with you until medical attention arrives.
Q. What if my carer doesn’t turn up?
A. There may be a variety of reasons for this. We ask that you allow 15 minutes after your appointment is due. However, if no one turns up within this timespan, please call our office or on-call person, who will investigate.
Q. Are your employees insured?
A. For your protection, we ensure that all carers are insured in respect of employer and public liability.
Q. What if I don’t require my service?
A. Call our office and we will adjust the carers accordingly.
Q. Do your carers help with the administering of medicines?
A. Yes, they follow company procedure in this respect and prompt/remind you when to take your medicine if this is within your Care Plan. We have a registered nurse within our team who is there to guide and train the care staff accordingly. All medication must be in its original packaging, or the dosette box must be filled by a pharmacist.
Q. What if I go into hospital/respite or away on holiday?
A. Under our current contractual agreement we will retain your care package for a period of one week. Thereafter your care package will return to the Local Authority. If you plan a break please call us directly and we will try and accommodate any changes. Please note that we will continue to bill any breaks in service for a period of one week.
Q. I would like to give my carer a gift at Christmas, is this OK?
A. We appreciate that at this time of year some gifts may be exchanged. It is company policy that staff must not accept gifts, especially money, and that they must report any gifts offered or received from a service user. However, in the spirit of the season, we respectfully ask that no more than a box of chocolates be given.
Q. Will there be a problem if I have a pet?
A. Not at all, although we would respectfully ask you to remove your pet from the areas the carers will be working in, for Health & Safety reasons.
Q. Do I have to sign a contract?
A. Yes, even if the costs are being met elsewhere. The contract is an agreement between you and the company that you are happy to receive the service as per your Care Plan.
Q. How long can I expect to receive the care service?
A. For as long as you wish it to continue. We will only stop providing your service if there are issues concerning the Health & Safety of our carers which cannot be resolved.
Q. How do I stop receiving the care service?
A. This will be discussed with you when you plan your care. You have the right to do so if you wish. If you decide to end the service with us because you are unhappy, please give us the opportunity to rectify the situation to your satisfaction at ‘Have your say’.