National Care Standards: Adult Placement Services

7-16 Day-to-day life (standards 7 to 16)

7 Starting to use the service
8 Making choices
9 Feeling safe and secure
10 Exercising your rights
11 Expressing your views
12 Lifestyle
13 Keeping well
14 Private life
15 Daily life
16 Supporting communication

Day-to-day life

Introduction to standards 7 to 16

Starting to use the service - making choices

You can expect that the adult placement worker and adult placement carer will be sensitive to your feelings and any worries you may have during this period. They will respect the fact that you still have choices about how your accommodation is provided, and how your support and care needs are met.

You have the right to make decisions about your life and care in the placement. For a few people, however, individual circumstances will limit this opportunity. If you lack the capacity to take a decision, you will come under the provisions of The Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000. Where relevant, you may be safeguarded by the provisions of The Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984.

Feeling safe and secure

You can feel safe and secure during your stay. You have the right to choose the risks you want to take, as long as there is a sensible balance between your individual needs and preferences, and the safety of other people.

Exercising your rights - expressing your views

Your adult placement worker and adult placement carer must always respect and actively promote your rights. You keep your rights and you also have a responsibility not to infringe the rights of others. The adult placement service must take your and your family's comments, concerns and complaints about the quality of the service and your experience of it seriously. They are your way of contributing to, and influencing how, the service is run.

Lifestyle - social, cultural and religious belief or faith

The standards in this section make it clear that when you are on the placement you can continue to live your life in line with your own social, cultural or religious beliefs or faith.

Keeping well

Keeping healthy or regaining your health are important to your wellbeing and quality of life. You have a right to have your health needs met and to have support in using the full range of healthcare services. You also have a right to have your medication arranged efficiently and safely.

Private life and daily life

In the adult placement, you continue to have the right to a private life. You continue to be part of the community and to enjoy normal daily life as part of the household.

Supporting communication

People may use different languages or methods of communication for a variety of reasons. As a result, they may have difficulty in making themselves understood. However, being able to communicate is an essential part of playing an active part in daily life and you should get help to do so if you need it.

Starting to use the service

Standard 7

You can be confident that the adult placement service works with you to choose the best possible adult placement carer for you.

1 Wherever possible, you will be able to help choose your adult placement carer. If this is not possible, the reasons will be explained to you in a way that you can understand.

2 You will live only with people who have been carefully assessed as being compatible with you.

3 Your specific needs will be dealt with and, when necessary, you will be able to get specialist professional support, information and advice.

4 If you have to use the adult placement service because of an emergency, your adult placement carer will be given all the information he or she needs to make sure that you and other members of the household are safe. The placement will be reviewed within three working days.

Making choices

Standard 8

You can make choices in all areas of your personal and social life.

1 You have the right to make your own decisions and choices.

2 You have the freedom to carry out your choices with the clear understanding of what might happen to you and others as a result.

3 You have access to trained, independent advocates (representatives) to help you make your choices.

4 Your adult placement service has a procedure for involving you in all decisions that affect your life.

5 You have information and effective communication from the adult placement service, so that you can be involved in all decisions and make informed choices personally, or with the support of an independent advocate (representative).

6 You have whatever support you need to manage your finances, and legal and personal affairs, with practical help if you need it. Your adult placement carer will support you in handling your own money.

Feeling safe and secure

Standard 9

You feel safe and secure, and can choose the risks you want to take when you know what is involved.

1 You have caring and competent people to support you.

2 Your adult placement carer has regular contact with her or his worker or manager, who is there to provide support and monitoring. The adult placement carer has access to emergency duty services and out-of-hours support.

3 You can be confident that your adult placement service makes a general risk assessment of the house and then an individual risk assessment before your placement.

4 You can be confident the risk assessment offers a sensible balance between your needs and preferences and the needs of the adult placement carer and other family members and is reviewed whenever necessary during your placement.

5 You are supported to take calculated risks on the basis of the risk assessment.

6 Any accidents or incidents are recorded and, if necessary, fully investigated. Your adult placement worker (and your family, carer or representative if you want them to be) are kept fully informed of any accident or incident that happens during your placement.

Exercising your rights

Standard 10

You keep your rights and responsibilities as an individual.

1 Your adult placement worker and adult placement carer treat you politely at all times and always respect your individuality.

2 You are called by your preferred name or title at all times.

3 Your placement agreement explains your rights and responsibilities, and you know what is expected of you and what you can expect of others.

4 You have the right to confidentiality, and your placement agreement explains how information about you will be handled and how your confidentiality will be protected.

5 Your adult placement carer will have guidance from the adult placement service on what information they should record and how confidentiality should be maintained.

Expressing your views

Standard 11

You are encouraged and supported to make your views known on any aspects of the adult placement service at any time.

1 You can freely discuss any concerns you have with your adult placement carer or worker, or the management of the adult placement service.

2 You know how to make a complaint or comment about the service. You are also aware of the procedure for making complaints directly to the Care Commission.

3 You can be confident that the adult placement service deals with concerns and complaints quickly and sympathetically, and provides full information about what will happen as a result of the complaint.

4 You are encouraged and supported to have other people to help you express your views. If you want to use an independent and confidential advocacy service, the adult placement worker will have information about any service that would help you in this way.

5 If you have an independent representative, staff will listen to what he or she has to say on your behalf, as if you were expressing the views yourself.

6 If you belong to an advocacy group, staff will take seriously suggestions or proposals that come from the group.

7 You can play a part in the Care Commission's inspection of your service.

8 You know that the adult placement service will make available a copy of each Care Commission inspection report about the service so that you and your representative can look through it.

Lifestyle - social, cultural and religious belief or faith

Standard 12

Your social, cultural and religious belief or faith are respected. You are able to live your life in keeping with these beliefs.

1 Your adult placement carer will be properly informed about the implications of your social, cultural and religious belief or faith for you.

2 You are given the opportunity and support you may need to practise your beliefs, including keeping in touch with your faith community.

3 Your holy days and festivals, birthdays and personal anniversaries are recognised and ways are found to make sure you can observe these as you choose.

Keeping well

Standard 13

You are confident that the adult placement service knows your healthcare needs and arrangements are in place to meet them in a way that suits you best.

1 You continue to be registered with your usual GP and dentist. If you are on a longer placement and this is not possible, your adult placement carer will help you to register as quickly as possible with a new GP and dentist of your choice from those providing services in the area of the placement.

2 If you have been receiving community healthcare services (for example, physiotherapy, chiropody or advice on your diet) and still need them, you will continue to receive them in the adult placement. Otherwise, the placement worker will help to make new arrangements for you.

3 The adult placement service will find out about any continuing healthcare needs that you may have and, with your agreement, tell your adult placement carer about them.

4 You can expect the adult placement worker and adult placement carer to be aware of issues around the assessment and management of any symptoms you may have, including pain, and how to access any specialist services.

5 During your stay, you will be supported (if you need it) to get help or advice from your , dentist, specialist or community care services.
You will also be supported to follow any advice from them, if you need it.

6 If you need help with taking your medication, you can be confident that the adult placement service has policies and procedures in place for this to be done safely and in the way that suits you best. These will include making sure your adult placement carer:

• knows and abides by the adult placement service's policies and procedures to make sure that best practice guidance is followed and that records are kept if she or he helps you to take medication;
• knows whether or not you are taking medication;
• knows if you can choose to manage your own medication or if there are specific legal provisions applying to you that prevent this;
• knows that, even where the law allows medication to be given without consent, it will not be given to you in a disguised form unless you have refused and your health is at risk. If this happens it will be recorded;
• provides you with a safe place to keep your own medication. If you need it, you will also have special storage somewhere else (for example, in a fridge) that is accessible to you;
• helps you with ordering and collecting your prescriptions if you want or need it;
• arranges for your medication (for instance, an injection) to be given in a way that recognises and respects your privacy and dignity; and
• helps you to get advice about your medication or any changes you are experiencing from the appropriate member of the primary care team
  if you need and want this.

Private life

Standard 14

You have the right to a private life.

1 You are treated as an individual with unique needs.

2 Your adult placement carer will respect your privacy and dignity.

3 Your adult placement carer accepts your sexuality and recognises that your legitimate sexual needs and preferences are important to you.

4 You can discuss your needs in confidence and privacy with your adult placement carer or your adult placement worker.

5 You can expect that intimate physical care or treatment will be carried out sensitively and in private, in a way that maintains your dignity.

Daily life

Standard 15

You make choices and decisions about day-to-day aspects of your life and about how you spend your time.

1 If your personal plan says that you should have the opportunities for education, training and work, the adult placement worker and adult placement carer will help you in this. If you have serious disabilities, you will have one-to-one support to help you to be included in these opportunities.

2 If you have serious disabilities, the adult placement worker and adult placement carer will help you to get involved in activities that will benefit you, while still giving you a choice.

3 Your adult placement worker supports your adult placement carer to make sure you:

• can use local services such as hairdressers, shops and banks;
• have access to information about local events, facilities and activities; and
• are supported to develop new relationships if you want.

4 When you are on a longer placement, your adult placement worker makes sure you have the opportunity to take short breaks away if you want.

Supporting communication

Standard 16

You have help to use services, aids and equipment for communication, if your first language is not English or if you have any other communication needs.

1 Your communication needs are regularly assessed and reviewed.

2 You can communicate in the way that most suits your special needs and strengths. If you need it, your adult placement carer can help you to use specialist communication equipment.

3 You have help to keep in touch with your family, carer and friends during your placement, if you and your family, carer and friends want to.