x 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. Twenty 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 Registered Manager has completed ten years in the care industry. She also brings twenty five years management experience gained at a very senior level. She is also a qualified assessor for all NVQ courses.
In addition to the registered manager, the home employs four senior care staff, 14 care staff, three cooks, two housekeepers, a permanent hairdresser 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 plus a senior on duty for the morning shift, three plus senior 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 all core training with the care staff and 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, moving and handling, first aid, health and safety, infection control and SOVA. Other training includes, 2 staff currently studying National Vocational Qualification level 2 in Care, six have NVQ level 3. Eight staff have completed NVQ level 2. A senior carer has NVQ level 4. All cooks have the Food Hygiene Certificate, as do eight 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 is includes a description of their individual 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 large plasma 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 £665 per week, payable four weeks in advance. Some of these fees may be helped by the local authority/health service (Milton Keynes).
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 The Care Quality Commission.
A copy of our complaints procedure is 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 Care Quality Commission South East Region, Citygate, Gallowgate, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4PA. Tel: 03000 616161
• local authority social services or Age Concern as the main commissioners of these services.
Copy of Inspection Report
A copy of our last inspection report, dated 04th April 2007, 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.
The following is an outline of a document, compatible with the requirements of the National Standards, which homes should adapt to their own needs..