Statement of Purpose

SPECIAL PEOPLE CLIENT GUIDE incorporating STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

Our Statement of Purpose should be read and applied in conjunction with our wider policies, procedures, practices and protocols which together form the complete documentation of Special People.

Our Statement of Purpose and full suite of policies and procedures is available to all new prospective Clients, visitors and other relevant interested parties.

Wherever any part of the Statement of Purpose changes, we ensure that all circulating copies of the Statement of Purpose are updated within 28 days of that change.  The Care Quality Commission will also be sent those changes in order that they may update the copy lodged with them.

Aims and Objectives

The stated Mission of Special People is to serve those responsible for individuals with disabilities by providing dependable, high-quality care.

Aims

Special People is dedicated and committed to providing the highest possible quality of care for our clients – whilst operating efficiently, cost-effectively and professionally.  We will focus on continuously raising our standards in all areas of operation to provide a sustainable organisation capable of growth. Our commitments include helping each individual reach their full potential and to provide support and information to them and their families and caregivers at all times.  

Detailed Business Objectives

We will pursue our Mission and achieve our Aims by the following means:

  • Sourcing support workers who meet our highest standards – commitment, caring and consideration being key
  • Employing professional, creative and innovative staff who will not only add value to the organisation but share our goals
  • Focusing on developing, supporting, motivating and training to enable them to realise this vision now and into the future
  • Monitoring service quality and continuously exploring all opportunities for improvement
  • Developing and maintaining appropriate and mutually beneficial relationships with private clients and local authorities/PCTs
  • Developing relationships with providers of specialist day or residential care to support families at times when care from those providers is unavailable
  • Establishing systems, procedures and processes that will ensure our clients are protected and treated fairly

In summary:

The proprietor will take full responsibility for developing, implementing, monitoring and maintaining a centre of operations, which is well-managed, financially viable and sustainable.

Registered Provider

The name of the Registered Provider is:

Special People

Brickworks Community Centre

42 Crouch Hill

London

N4 4BY

The name of the Registered Manager is:

Julie Laura Skinner

Qualifications of Responsible Individual:

B.A Hons P.G.C.E

 julie@specialpeople.org.uk

A qualified teacher and school governor with her own child with additional needs.

Established Special People in 1998 and has full responsibility for personnel and legal affairs, recruitment, training, and finance. Experienced in implementation of all policies and procedures and effective regular liaison with external parties including banks, insurers, lawyers, clients and other third parties.

Active involvement in charities and organisations dealing with disabilities and human rights.

Training, qualifications and experience of domicilirary care workers

Training

Our staff are fully up to date with all necessary training materials and where possible exceeding statutory requirements.

Induction training of a minimum of three working days is provided to all support workers joining Special People. The training will comprise:

  1. In-house training to ensure all policies, working practices and procedures are fully understood (and will be explained in depth in a group setting if there are a number of new employees, or one-to-one as appropriate).  The National Minimum Standards and the Domiciliary Care Agencies Regulations 2002 will be referenced throughout training. The support workers may be familiar with the policies and handbooks of other organisations but this is not sufficient and our unique policies and handbook will be explained in detail and copies will be available to staff.
    • More specifically to include:
    • Overview of the Statement of Purpose and objectives of Special People.
    • Review of terms and conditions of employment, policies, procedures, and staff handbook.
    • The nature of personal care and the necessary basic skills.
    • Range of activities and limits of responsibilities.
    • Care plans – preparation (including liaison with other relevant professionals), monitoring, review.
    • Personal safety at work.
    • Standards of quality assurance and monitoring.
    • Confidentiality of information.
    • Understanding and dealing with equality and diversity issues.
    • Health and Safety including risk assessments, manual handling, infection control and fire procedures.
    • First aid and dealing with accidents and emergencies.
    • Review of the Medicines Administration policy and its implications for the Care Plan.
    • Child Protection, Abuse, Whistle-blowing – recognition and disclosure.
    • Dealing with violence and aggression.
    • Handling clients’ keys, money, other possessions and dealing with gifts.
    • Grievance policy and procedures.
    • Complaints and compliments policies and procedures.
  2. Training specific to client’s requirements, incorporating relevant training from the following:
    • Completion of Care Certificate withing probation period (3 months);
    • With advance approval of the client, shadowing an existing support-worker for an appropriate period of time;
    • Medicines Administration training to ensure this section of the Client Plan is correctly completed and to ensure sufficient competence where the support worker is administering medication;
    • Moving and handling;
    • First-aid;
    • Fire prevention;
  3. Recruitment and selection;
  4. Performance measurement, the appraisal systems including setting objectives and identifying training requirements.
  5. Health and Safety obligations including risk assessments and manual handling assessments;
  6. The principles, and practical implications and outcomes of quality assurance.

The issue of a photo ID is the last stage of the induction process and is therefore your guarantee that the support worker has completed our induction programme.  Every member of staff will always carry their badge.

Qualifications

All our support workers will come to us with a range of different experiences.  We will consider and recruit candidates in line with our Equal Opportunities policy and will therefore make decisions based on fair and objective criteria.

The qualifications we look for may be variable dependent on requirements of different roles, including as appropriate:

Under-graduates or post-graduates from the fields of:

  • Physiotherapy
  • Nursing
  • Specialist community public health nursing
  • Health studies
  • Community health
  • Health and Social Care
  • Psychology
  • Speech therapy
  • Social Work
  • Social change and teaching 

Support workers gaining qualifications through experience are expected to complete the care certificate within the first three months. They are assessed during their probationary period. At the successful end of the 6-month probationary period a support worker without formal qualifications can register for the relevant NVQ and are able to complete their NVQ Level 2 within 24 months of the start of their employment.

Statutory disclosure requirements

  • Enhanced DBS disclosure will be required for all staff. 
  • Throughout employment staff will be required to re-apply for Disclosure through the DBS every 3 years. 
  • Every employee will be checked against the Protection of Children Act Barred List in which the Secretary of State has a duty to record the names of individuals who are considered unsuitable to work with children.
  • Employees will be checked against the Children’s and Adults Barred lists during employment process and repeated every 3 years unless on the update service. Candidates will not be employed if they are included on any List.
  • Special People will comply with The Protection of Children Act 1999 Act which sets out the circumstances where under certain circumstances it may have to refer names to the Secretary for State for consideration of inclusion in the barred lists.

Delivery of care and support

Referral

A new client will approach us based on information provided from a number of sources:

  • Social services, a health visitor, patient liaison support worker, or other family-support professional;
  • Word of mouth recommendation from another family;
  • Education Departments and schools;
  • A link from the National Autism register;
  • Flyers / posters at GP surgeries, medical centres and hospitals;
  • Visiting the Special People website specialpeople.org.uk;

Assessment of the needs of the family

  • Initial contact may be by phone, e-mail or post or in person.  Enquires usually include a request for more information about the service provision including pricing;
  • Following initial contact and broad discussion of the service requirements, and providing the client wishes to continue looking at our service opportunity, a copy of The Client Guide will be sent to the potential client;
  • For direct clients full pricing details will be covered at a later date when the requirements are discussed in more depth.  For clients via local authority contracts this is not usually relevant;
  • Usually before accepting a new client Special People will meet the family and the service-user to discuss and assess fully the needs of the family.  This may or may not include other relevant parties such as health or educational professionals;
  • The most appropriate support-worker will be matched with the client and introduced to the family; it is our intention to retain the same support- worker for the duration of the contract with the family and it is one of the missions of Special People that we provide the highest possible quality of care to our clients;
  • A contract with the client is agreed and signed by client and Special People
  • Prior to the provision of the care service, a Care Plan is developed in a suitable and appropriate manner according to each circumstance, with the Client and other relevant parties such as relatives, friends, representatives, health care professionals etc. and in accordance with our Care Plan policy;
  • Naturally, circumstances change, which means we review all Care Plans to an agreed regular programme and when circumstances change between those regular reviews. Again, the persons above are actively included in the development of the care plan to achieve the best possible outcome.
  • Support workers have to be familiar with the Care Plans for those to whom they provide care services and they must be assisted to carry out those Care Plans properly.  This means we provide relevant training with regards to care planning and its application.
  • A risk assessment is completed in accordance with our Health and Safety policy complete with an evaluation of hazards and implementations to be made including implementation dates.

Security of Data

All recruitment, personnel and Client records are stored securely in electronic form and lockable filing cabinets and is subject to our Data Protection policy.

Quality Assurance Policy

The Special People business plan states as one of its missions “Being proactive in our approach to quality management and continuously exploring all opportunities for improvement”.  We are committed to consistent and continuous improvement in the quality of all our services and operations, and we will judge this quality by how well we anticipate, respond to and satisfy the needs of our clients, clients and staff.

This is based around our model of evaluation, review and monitoring system encompassing all stakeholders – no one person involved in our care provision has the absolute perspective on quality.  In order to achieve our aims, and in particular to achieve our Mission, we have established clear systems for the gathering of feedback, the review of that feedback and the implementation of a clear plan of action for continuous improvement.

Quality Assurance is the responsibility of senior management and forms part of our management reporting procedures and key management information. Quality Assurance and a review of evaluative data will be a standard item on the Management Meeting agenda.

Special People will:

  • Establish feedback gathering and evaluation activities on a consistent and sustained basis, involving all clients.
  • Facilitate an annual audit and report key documents, processes and procedures to ensure they meet the needs of clients and where appropriate the requirements of legislation. This will include an annual visit to all clients by the Management team where appropriate with a review of the Client Guide and / or monitoring the performance of the support worker to include checks on completion of timesheets and diary sheets.
  • Compile an action plan from that audit which includes clear and measurable objectives, and which is formally reviewed and maintained
  • Undertake continued evaluation through our clients to ensure compliance to our action plan – for example checks at regular intervals that policies, procedures and other guidelines are being adhered to by all staff
  • Set expectations for the future direction of our business
  • Determine quality approaches to implement those expectations
  • Ensure all staff are assisted to work within these expectations, including regular meetings between the support workers and their line manager
  • Monitor staff performance within Special People leading to the setting of targets and the identification of opportunities for continued professional development
  • Have systems in place to ensure they consistently meet the requirements of relevant regulatory standards and other relevant service standards and indicators

When requesting input from our clients, we will adopt communication methods suited to the individual or group, and this may include 1:1 discussion, surveys and questionnaires, telephone conversations, letters or emails. An annual report of the Quality Assurance review will be published annually and a copy issued to the CQC, with further copies available on request from service-users, clients and stakeholders.

Complaints procedure

“For the purpose of considering complaints made to the registered person by a client or a person acting on behalf of a client.”

We aim to ensure our services are of the highest quality. When the respite service provided falls below the high standards we expect, we want to know immediately to enable us to rectify the situation. 

If you have a complaint, please contact Julie Skinner at Special People.  Any complaint will be fully investigated within the period of 28 days beginning on the date on which the complaint is made, or such shorter period as may be reasonable in the circumstances. 

A full verbal and written report will be produced which will include our proposals for resolution.  If necessary the report will also be sent to the appropriate funding provider.

A full up to date record of each complaint will be kept securely, confidentially and in good order, and retained for a period of not less than three years beginning on the date of the last entry.  Records will include details of the investigations made, the outcome and any action taken in consequence.

Special People will supply to the CQC at its request a statement containing a summary of the complaints made during the twelve months ending on the date of the

request and the action taken in response.

Additional versions of the complaints procedures, for example, for the visually impaired, are available on request from Special People.

Our regional office for the Care Quality Commission is:

London Regional Office

140-142 King’s Cross Road

London

WC1X 9DS

The London Regional Office is run by: Change, Grow, Live

Compliments Procedure

It is always encouraging when you feel motivated enough to compliment us or a member of staff for something you feel they have done well, “over and above the call of duty” etc.

Naturally, we want to ensure others know you have passed a compliment because they too feel encouraged and this filters down to the standard of care we provide.

We are happy to receive any compliment in whatever manner you see fit.  If it is possible that you can let the Registered Manager know of your compliment this helps us ensure that others may be encouraged too. A separate file/record of any compliments received will be maintained.

Of course, if you are that pleased, a letter to the Care Quality Commission is very welcome.  A letter can be sent to:

Care Quality Commission

National Correspondence

Citygate, Gallowgate

Newcastle upon Tyne

NE1 4PA

Tel: 03000 616161 

Fax: 03000 616171

Good news is always encouraging, if you could send us a copy of that letter, we can use it to encourage others too by passing the information on.