SERVICE USERS' GUIDE


Welcome to Devon Lodge Retirement Home

Summary of Purpose of the Home

Devon Lodge is owned by Amberley Health Care Limited, which has its main office at,18 Theydon Avenue, Woburn Sands, Milton Keynes MK17 8PL.

Devon Lodge opened in 1990 to enable older people to continue living as independently as possible by receiving care and support consistent with their incapacity and disabilities.

We value each and every individual, who comes to live at Devon Lodge. We welcome applications from people from all walks of life and with many different needs, who enjoy the opportunity to share and celebrate the richness and diversity of their experience. All residents are assured that they will be treated with respect and dignity according to their individual needs and wishes.

People who enquire about our accommodation and services are provided with an information pack. All inquirers are encouraged to visit the place before continuing with their application and may then directly apply for a place at Devon Lodge. At this stage and if social services are involved they will assess financial circumstances which will determine any funding to which they may be entitled as a contribution to the costs of their accommodation and care.

Each application is given careful consideration by the home's management and, depending on vacancies, a decision to offer a place is made within seven days.

Where there is no current vacancy it is possible for an applicant to be placed on a waiting list.

Number of Places and for whom

Devon Lodge is a registered care home, and aims to provide high-standard accommodation and care in 23 rooms. Nineteen rooms are for single occupancy and three are for double occupancy. The larger double rooms accommodate married couples or partners, who wish to live together by choice. All accommodation complies with the National Minimum

Anyone over the age of 65 years, including married couples or partners, who require help with daily living, is entitled to apply for a place at Devon Lodge. However, most of our residents are in their 80s and some in their 90s. Priority is given to local people as one of our main aims being to help residents retain their links with their community, family and friends. We are committed to ensuring that no one is excluded on the grounds of their ethnicity, religion or culture. We thus discuss with each applicant how their individual and cultural needs can be met.

Registered Provider, Manager and Staff

The Proprietor has a B.A. Degree and has had experience of the running of care homes for the elderly and a registered nursery for pre school children.

The person officially registered as the home manager, is Mrs Elizabeth Fellows. 25 years in senior management posts.Then12 years as a Director of her own business. Latterly 7 years in the care for the elderly, having achieved many qualifications including the registered manager’s award and also the NVQ Assessors qualification.

In addition to the registered manager, the home employs three senior care staff, 14 care staff, three cooks, two housekeepers, and a maintenance person. All staff are within a reasonable distance from the Home. All staff are familiar with the local town with is a help to the residents. There are four staff on duty for the morning shift, three on the afternoon shift and two at night. A senior member of staff is always available on call for night staff, this is backed up by the manager or proprietor. Ancillary staff receives training in the home's philosophy and values.

The home is fully committed to staff learning and development.

All staff receive regular training in, fire prevention, lifting and handling and first aid. Other training includes, Eleven staff have NVQ level 2, and 3. A senior carer is a qualified NVQ Assessor. All cooks have the Food Hygiene Certificate, along side seven other care staff. The company intends to train all care staff to NVQ level 2 or 3.

Description of Accommodation, Support, Facilities and Specialist Services

The individual resident's agreed plan of care or service plan provides the basis on which Devon Lodge care service is delivered. Each person's plan includes a description of their care needs, their likes and dislikes in relation to food and any specific dietary requirements and similar matters. It includes their preferences in respect to how they like to be addressed and what dignity, respect and privacy means to them in terms of daily behaviour and actions. We find that it is particularly important to find this out in relation to any intimate personal care activities that staff are expected to carry out.

The care plan also contains a risk assessment and any risk management plan needed. It includes details of health care needs, medication, details of GP and any community nursing or other therapeutic services provided or that the resident commissions for her or himself. The service plan also includes details of residents' social interests and activities and how these are met, and any arrangements to attend religious services of their choice and for contact with relatives, friends and representatives.

The daily care programme is organised as a response to residents' individual and combined needs. All mealtimes are flexible, and residents can arrange to have their meals in their own rooms or in the dining room. We have a large comfortable sitting room with a television, this room is also used for social events. The dinning room is well equipped and very well presented, the quiet area is available to all residents and is often used by residents to entertain their family and friends. The large airy conservatory is used by residents during the day and is also a focal area for chatting and entertaining. These areas provide choice and reflect residents' interests.

User Surveys and Views of the Home

We are committed to maintaining and improving the quality of our service. We have a comprehensive Quality Policies and Procedures Manual, which is constantly under review and revision. All significant policies are contained here including our complaints procedure. An important part of our approach to quality assurance is to obtain the views of residents, relatives and their representatives. We do this by our regular reviews with individual residents and, on more general matters, through separate meetings with residents and relatives.

Key Contract Terms — Admission, Occupancy, Termination of Contract

When people move in they have one month built into their occupancy agreement to decide whether "this is the place for them". This first month then provides an opportunity for staff to get to know the individual resident and their family, and to identify their wants and preferred ways of living, e.g. the time they like to get up in the morning and go to bed at night.

During this period the person's care and support requirements are also assessed and discussed, and developed into an agreed plan. This will include discussion and assessment of any risks to which the resident or staff may be exposed as a result of making their own choices and decisions. It also includes discussion, with the agreement of the resident, with any relatives or representatives who may be involved about the person's care needs and plans. The aim is to achieve a plan of care with which everyone involved is happy.

Fees Charged, What They Cover, Cost of Extras

Fees start at £580 per week, payable four weeks in advance. Some or all of these fees may be met by the local authority/health service Milton Keynes Council.
Fees include all care and accommodation costs, food and drink, heating and lighting, any laundry done on the premises and any other services that the staff provides. Service users are expected to pay from their personal allowance or private income for personal items such as newspapers and for additional services provided at Devon Lodge such as hairdressing and chiropody. Residents are free to make their own arrangements for buying in such services.

All rooms have telephone points and residents can have a telephone connected if they so wish, they are however responsible for the cost of installation and subsequent telephone bills.

Fees will be reviewed every year or more often if increased running costs make it necessary to make changes to the service plan.

Copy of Complaints Procedure — Information about How to Contact Local NCSC, Local Social Services, and Health Care
A copy of our complaints procedure is attached/included in this information pack.

In the event of you wishing to make a complaint, or needing further information on your rights and standards, you may wish to contact the following organisations:
• the National Care Standards Commission (Local Office) Joan Browne at The Oast, Hermitage Court,Hermitage Lane, Maidstone, Kent ME16 9NT. Tel 01622 724950
• local authority social services/National Health Service (state address and contact details) as the main purchasers/commissioners of these services.

Copy of Inspection Report

A copy of our last inspection report, dated 21.04.2008, is also available to view at the home.

CONTRACT (STANDARD 2)
NATIONAL MINIMUM STANDARDS REQUIREMENTS

The National Minimum Standards for Care Homes for Older People specify that each service user financed by a local authority should be provided with a statement of terms and conditions at the point of moving into the home. In the case of residents who are purchasing their care privately, this document should take the form of a contract, but for local authority financed residents the formal contract is with the local authority making the placement. In either case, the Standards state that the same points should be covered in the document.

The purpose of the document, as with any contract, is to state the rights and responsibilities of both parties. Most residents will be entering a home for the first time and will have little precise idea of what they can expect and what is expected of them, and some may approach the home with rather negative expectations. The document provides a useful framework for outlining to residents both their rights and the limits to what they can do and demand while in the home. Similarly, it should state what the home can and cannot provide and thus act as guidance to staff on their obligations.

In many cases a resident will be accompanied on initial visits by a relative, friend or other representative, who may take the lead in arranging the placement. For local authority service users a care manager or similar official will have a similar role. In such situations it is important that the members of staff responsible for the admission develop a direct dialogue with the prospective resident. The home and its staff will be dealing with and caring for an individual resident during their term of residence, so the working out of the contract on a day-to-day basis is with that resident, not with any third party.

The statement of terms and conditions should cover the following.

1. Rooms to be occupied.
2. Overall care and services (including food) covered by the fees.
3. Fees payable and by whom (service user, local or health authority, relative or another).
4. Additional service (including food and equipment) to be paid over and above those included in the fees.
5. Rights and obligations of the service user and registered provider and who is liable if there is a breach of contract.
6. Terms and conditions of occupancy, including period of notice (e.g. short-term/long-term/intermediate care/respite care).
Although the statement of terms and conditions is a formal agreement, efforts should be made to avoid difficult, professional or legalistic language or a tone, which seems weighted against the service user. The language should be clear and unambiguous.