Neuro Partners Policy & Procedure

Statement of Purpose - Cumbria

Introduction

Neuro Partners Cumbria Ltd provides specialist support and rehabilitation to people living with the consequences of brain injury &/ or neurological conditions, all support is consistent with the Mental Capacity Act 2005, POVA legislation and the National Minimum Standards, Domiciliary Care Regulations (Care Standards Act 2000).

Please feel free to contact us at our registered office:

Neuro Partners Cumbria

Neuro Partners Ltd

Bourne House,

Milbourne Street,

Carlisle,

Cumbria.

CA2 5XF

Telephone No: 01228 635551

Facsimile No: 01228 635577

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Website: www.neuropartners.co.uk

Please note that the following information outlines Our Statement of Purpose when working with vulnerable adults, it does not contain all of Neuro Partners Policies and Procedures- however these are available in full upon request.

Statement of Purpose

Neuro Partners Support and Intervention Services offers a specialist knowledge and experience of personal and functional support and intervention services to meet the needs of Service Users; these may include people with brain injuries and neurological conditions in order to support their place in their community. This will be achieved by promoting a standard of excellence which embraces fundamental principles of quality support and intervention to meet the specific needs of the individual.

Support and intervention is provided in partnership with the Service User, who is at the heart of all Neuro Partners provision, as our philosophy is to serve the individual and their families; respecting their diverse and unique needs, preferences and choices.

It is standard practice for an experienced member of our team to visit each Service User before commencing the service, in order that we are able to clearly understand the individual needs and wants of those we aim to serve and agree intervention and support plans of their terms, and by so doing provide the most suitable service and associated bespoke support team members.

Service Aims & Objectives

Person centred support and intervention forms the core of the service we provide at Neuro Partners and our staff are committed to meeting our aims and objectives:

Ø   To deliver a service of the highest quality that will improve and sustain the Service User’s overall quality of life.

Ø   To ensure that the service is delivered flexibly, attentively and in a non-discriminatory fashion while respecting each Service User’s right to independence, privacy, dignity, fulfilment, and the rights to make informed choices and to take risks.

Ø   To ensure that each Service User’s needs and values are respected in matters of religion, culture, race or ethnic origin, sexuality and sexual orientation, political affiliation, marital status, parenthood and disabilities or barriers.

Ø   To identify, train and match Support Workers as closely as possible with the Service User, in order to meet their needs, and respecting the possible need to change the Support Worker in the event of subsequent non-compatibility.

Ø   To involve Service Users to support the development of their bespoke service and team to meet their needs in provision, working alongside Service Users to support and train staff to understand their uniqueness and requirements on their terms.

Ø   To work in partnership with Service Users to develop staff members to become experts in meeting their needs in a manner that the Service User wants.

Ø   To encourage Service Users and their family members in the development of services, this will be monitored regularly as part of the quality assurance framework.

Ø   To ensure that all Service Users are aware of the procedures of making compliments, comments and complaints.

Ø   To provide this service 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days of the year.

Company Statement of Good Practice

The philosophy of the Company is to reflect and promote values that focus upon the individual Service User as being at the centre of Support and Intervention Service planning and Service delivery. To help achieve this, the Company has drawn upon the fundamental Core Values:

Ø   Autonomy and independence of personal decision-making, including the assumption of managed risks promotion of being an active community citizen.

Ø   Choice of occupational activities, lifestyle, and the best way to maintain independence, including the opportunity to select independently from a range of options.

Ø   Respect for the intrinsic worth, dignity and individuality of the person and his/her racial and ethnic identity and cultural heritage.

Ø   Participation and integration in society, and in the development of plans, policies and decisions affecting the individual’s life.

Ø   Knowledge about conditions and prospects, options and opportunities, and ways of improving the individual’s life.

Ø   Fulfilment of personal aspirations and abilities in all aspects of daily life, including the chance to develop new skills and knowledge.

Ø   Privacy from unnecessary intrusion, and the preservation and safeguarding of confidentiality.

Ø   Equality of opportunity and access to services irrespective of age, race or ethnic origin, creed, colour, religion, political affiliation, disability or impairments, marital status, parenthood, sexual gender or sexual orientation.

Ø   The right to staff that are specifically trained and supported to meet the unique needs of a unique person.

The realisation of these values, together with the level of help and support required to achieve personal goals, will be a unique process for each person - every person is an individual. However, the value principles remain constant and will provide a sound foundation for the provision of support and intervention to all, regardless of personal circumstances and in accordance with the Company’s Equal Opportunities Policy and Model of Delivery and Training.

 
Nature of The Services Provided

At Neuro Partners we have experienced and professional staff who meet Service Users prior to commencing service, to agree the support and intervention needs and requirements of Service Users, assessing each individual before service is offered, including aspects such as when the service will begin, its nature, aims, objectives, times, frequency and duration of support and intervention to be provided.

The support & intervention staff that Neuro Partners employs are trained in the unique needs of the allocated Service User, mentored, supervised and supported to provide a quality service, ensuring:

Ø   Service Users feel that they are treated with individuality, respect and valued as a person, and their right to privacy is upheld.

Ø   Service Users are assisted to make their own decisions and control their own lives and are supported in maintaining their independence and quality of life.

Ø   All Service Users are treated equally and are protected against any form of discrimination.

Ø   A Service User Plan is produced through consultation with each Service User, including information about their needs, wishes, preferences and personal goals.

Key personal Support and intervention is provided with all aspects of the individuals Activities of Daily Living, including (but not exclusively) as examples:

Ø  Dressing and undressing

Ø  Bathing, washing, shaving and oral hygiene

Ø  Toilet and continence requirements

Ø  Medication requirements and other health related activities

Ø  Manual handling

Ø  Eating and meals

 Specialist tasks

There are aspects of the service that we provide which require our support & interventions staff to be trained specifically to undertake such Service User specific needs support. The Support Worker will be trained in the procedure that meets your individual needs before performing the task and a trainer with a relevant qualification/experience will sign a form to indicate that the Support Worker is competent in undertaking the task. Such tasks requiring specialist training include may include, as examples:

Ø  Assisting with artificial feeding & hydration via PEG

Ø  Catheter management, changing bags, monitoring output

Ø  Assistance with eye or ear drops

Ø  Ileostomy and colostomy management, changing of bags

Ø  Tracheotomy management and care

Ø  Therapy daily exercises

Ø  Pressure area care

Please note that such processes are quality controlled by a local district nurse.

Examples of areas Support Workers may not undertake include as examples:

Ø  Toe nail cutting

Ø  Ear syringing

Ø  Removing or replacing urinary catheters

Ø  Injections, involving assembling syringes, administering medication intravenously

Ø  Filling of oxygen cylinders

Ø  Lifting from the floor unaided

Quality Assurance

Neuro Partners is committed to ensure that services continue to meet the Service Users needs. Our Quality Assurance starts with the recruitment of the best support & intervention staff possible and continues with systematic and ongoing monitoring of their performance. Delivering a consistent high quality, individualised and flexible service is our priority. This is achieved through Service Users feedback via the completion of a satisfaction survey, telephone satisfaction survey and face to face interviews with service users or their representative, guaranteeing an in-depth strategy of obtaining Service Users views and opinions. This also applies to the Service User’s significant other and the commissioners of our services.

There are also regular audits of provision, as well as issues, compliments and complaints received by the company. We also meet regularly with staff and hold regular supervision and monitoring of delivery.

The service will be audited and evaluated against the National Minimum Standards.

Complaints, Concerns, Comments & Compliments

With respect to Service User feedback concerning the quality of Services provided, this information is formally reviewed for content and possible action. Types of feedback include:

Ø  Compliments

Ø  Comments for improvements

Ø  Concerns and negative feedback where action is needed to address a problem

Ø  Complaints - serious concerns on the part of the Service User, requiring formal action under complaints procedure and may well be passed onto CQC for agreement on investigation and remedial action plan.

* All Service User’s and their significant others have a right to a copy and support with the Company Complaints Procedure.

To ensure that the Neuro Partners services provided matches your needs and your expectations we welcome any comments you may wish to make.

As one of our Service Users or their significant others, you are perfectly entitled to make complaints at any time and in any format or manner you desire. It is therefore the policy of Neuro Partners to ensure that all users of our services and stakeholders in receipt of our services are permitted and encouraged to voice dissatisfaction with a service or aspect of a service. 

1.     Our Service Users may complain to Neuro Partners directly, via their Support Worker, an advocate, their Social Worker or they may wish to complain to another agency.

2.     You may also contact the commissioning Primary Care Trusts & Social Services Dept, details of which we will supply at your request.

3.     Service Users may also complain to the Care Quality Commission:

Care Quality Commission (CQC)

2^nd Floor,

Unit 1, Tustin Court,

Portway,

Preston.

PR2 2QY

Tel:    03000 616161

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

www.cqc.gov.uk

4.     We value any comment or complaint our Service Users wish to make.   Anonymous complaints will not be ignored although it might be more difficult to deal with them in a satisfactory way.

5.     Complaints may be made about the service Neuro Partners directly provides or more generically about the overall ethos or approach of the organisation.  Also, members of the staff team will endeavour to provide help and support to people with a disability who have a complaint and/or problems with other services which directly or indirectly affect their lives.

6.     Neuro Partners recognises that a complaint may be made verbally or in writing.

7.     Verbal and/or anonymous complaints will be recorded on the complaints form and forwarded to a Director, who will determine if any action can be taken and whether this is a matter best dealt with by one of the local authorities such as Protection of Vulnerable Adults Officers (POVA) and CQC.

8.     If the matter is referred, the only investigation action Neuro Partners will take is to implement the instructions of the POVA Officer and/or CQC.

9.     Users of our services may wish to raise minor issues directly with their Support Worker.  However, it should be recognised that the member of staff might not be in a position to fully address the nature of the problem, and this should then be passed directly to their Line Manager.

10.  It should be noted to Service Users, Neuro Partners has the discretion to refer any complaint to an outside agency where Neuro Partners assesses this as the appropriate action to take.

Stage 1 Complaint

1.     If there is something a Service User wishes to comment or complain about, we recommend that it may be useful and easier to discuss the issue with their Support Worker (the Support Worker will inform their line manager and will make an entry into the Service User log/notes).

2.     Where possible the Support Worker will try to resolve the problem informally with the Service User (the Support Worker will inform their line manager and will make an entry into the Support Worker log/notes). 

3.     However, if the Service User is not satisfied with the results of this discussion or the Service User does not feel able to talk to the Support Worker, the Service User can ask to speak to a Manager or to any other staff member the Service User feels comfortable talking to.

4.     Alternatively, the Service User could complete a complaints form or instruct any person they feel suitable to support them to complete the form, this includes any member of Neuro Partners.  Any member of staff can give the Service User this form (on issuing the form, the member of staff must inform their line manager).

5.     The completed complaint form is to be issued to the line manager and copied to the Director on the same day of receipt.

6.     Both the line manager and the Director will action the complaint and do all they can to resolve this informal complaint to the satisfaction of the Service User.

7.     The line Manager and/or the Director will respond to the Service Users complaint within 5 working days and aim to have reached resolution within 10 working days of receipt of the complaint.

8.     All complaints and their resolutions will be reported upon by the Director in the monthly Operational Report and reviewed by the Managing Director and at the Board Meeting.

Stage 2 Complaint - Formal

1.     If the Service User is not satisfied with the response, the Service User has a right to make a formal complaint.

2.     The Service User may either tell a staff member, a Manager, or complete the complaints form.

3.     A Director of Neuro Partners will appoint someone, not previously involved in the complaint, as an investigating officer within 5 working days of receiving the complaint.

4.     The Service User has the right to be advised who has been appointed and the right to object. However, the final decision on who will conduct the initial investigation rests with a Director.

5.     The investigation may involve a visit to the Service User to discuss the complaint in full.  Arrangements for a visit will always be pre-arranged with the Service User.

6.     Someone of their choice may accompany the Service User during such a visit if they so wish.

7.     We will seek to complete any investigation within 14 days of the appointment of the investigating officer, although this may not be possible for more complex complaints.

8.     On completion of this investigation the Investigating Officer and a Director will feed the results back to the Service User within 5 working days of the completion of the investigation.

9.     The Service User will also be given a written response to the complaint from a Director within this time frame.

10.  If a complaint concerns the conduct of a member of Neuro Partners staff, the Disciplinary Procedures may be applied, if necessary.  The formal outcome of a disciplinary process is confidential and will not be communicated in detail to the complainant.

11.  If the Service User is unhappy with any aspect of the process they have the right to discuss this with the Managing Director of Neuro Partners and staff will assist them in making this arrangement.

12.  All complaints will be reviewed by the Board of Directors and Service User Representatives, and will be detailed in the Services monthly operational report.

13.  Neuro Partners will disclose all complaints and their resolutions to CQC. Any complaint concerning staff conduct will be disclosed to CQC by a Director and staff are required to follow the instructions of CQC at all times.

Note: Service Users should be aware that we may be required to disclose to Statutory Authorities, including CQC, Jobcentre Plus, Social Services, Primary Care Trust and others about the nature, action taken and disposition of complaints.  Neuro Partners will advise Service Users where this is happening.

Note: All Service Users have the right to refer their complaint to whom they wish.

Note: All Service Users will be issued with this Policy and Procedure, and         associated attachments.

 Management of Domiciliary Care Services Cumbria

Registered Provider

Jonathan Wade has the responsibility of being of the registered provider of Neuro Partners Cumbria.

Qualifications:

Registered Psychiatric Nurse

MSc Security & Risk Management

Diploma in Social Learning Theory

Masters of Business Administration

Experience:

10 years management experience working with adults/ adolescences in high                    security environments. A further 10 years experience as a Director working with vulnerable adults with brain injuries / neurological conditions.

Our Registered Manager

Lorraine Hetherington is responsible for managing our Cumbria domiciliary service

Qualifications:

Currently studying for NVQ4 Care

S.V.Q Level 3

Experience:

6 years experience working in the healthcare industry, including providing and managing support to adolescents with challenging behaviour in a Residential Unit setting. Lorraine also has two years management experience working with Service Users who have obtained a brain injury/ neurological condition.

Staffing Information

Neuro Partners is committed to ensuring that our staff are properly trained and qualified to meeting your needs.  Our recruitment process is rigorous and we will check the qualifications and training of all successful applicants.  We will also undertake an enhanced Criminal Record Check on each successful candidate.

Our teams are led by qualified and experienced professionals, and supported by our team of Psychologists to assist with any psychological based therapies and behavioural management issues.  This ensures that the best advice and support is available from our support workers in meeting your needs. 

We operate a comprehensive staff training and knowledge programme and are committed to the continuous professional development of our staff group.  Full induction training is given to all new staff members prior to commencing their employment with Service Users. New staff are mentored and deemed competent before being allowed to go solo on sessions, and all staff are supported by an experienced manager 24hrs a day, 7 days a week, through our On Call system.

All staff will have NVQ Levels II or III, or will be working towards this qualification.  Neuro Partners has a long standing relationship with local Universities and colleges to support our commitment to the education and training of staff.

Service Cover for Sickness &/or Holidays

Cover for staff holiday is generally arranged in advance with your consultation, and you have the chance to meet the member of staff covering. We try to ensure, wherever possible, Service Users and / or their advocate will be consulted about changes in their Carer in advance. In all cases, the Service User will have the final decision as to whether a Carer is acceptable for his / her needs.

Where we have no notice of cover change being needed, as a result of sudden staff absenteeism or sickness, we will endeavour to provide you with a member of staff that best suits your needs, and this will be discussed with you by a member of Neuro Partners. In all cases, the Service User will have the final decision as to whether a Carer is acceptable for his / her needs.

It is important to us that you have the Support Worker you feel comfortable with and we will do everything possible for you to have the consistency of staff that you require.

Useful Contacts

Director Approved/Reviewed:_____________________________ Date: 19^th January 2010

Name of Director:  Jonathan Wade – Managing Director