National Care Standards: Housing Support Services

5-8 Using the service

5 Lifestyle - social, cultural and religious belief or faith
6 Choice and communication
7 Exercising your rights
8 Expressing your views

Introduction to standards 5 to 8

Lifestyle - social, cultural and religious belief or faith

The standards in this section make it clear that you can continue to live your life in keeping with your own social, cultural or religious beliefs or faith when you are using housing support services.

Choice and 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. But being able to communicate is an essential part of taking part in daily life and you should be able to choose to get help to do so. You have the right to make decisions about your life, helped and supported by the housing support service.

Exercising your rights - expressing your views

The housing support service staff must always respect and promote your rights. They must make sure that you can express your views about the quality of the service and your experience of it, and take your comments, concerns and complaints seriously. They are your way of contributing to and influencing how the services are delivered.

Lifestyle - social, cultural and religious belief or faith

Standard 5
Your social, cultural and religious belief or faith are respected by the provider in supplying the service. You can live your life in keeping with these beliefs.

1 You are treated as an individual with unique needs.

2 Staff will know what your social, cultural and religious belief or faith will mean for how you live your life.

3 Where necessary, you have help to take part in religious, cultural and spiritual activities.

4 Your sexuality is accepted and your legitimate sexual needs and preferences are viewed as being important to you.

Choice and communication

Standard 6
You can be helped by housing support staff to make choices about the service that is provided and how it links to your personal and social life.

1 You are given good information about the choices that are available to you and the effect they will have on you. If you want, you can ask for an independent representative or for specialist advice.

2 You are free to carry out these choices unless any specific legal provision applies to you.

3 You can be confident that the housing support service provider has clear ways of communicating your wishes to your housing support staff so you do not have to repeat things.

Exercising your rights

Standard 7
You keep your rights as an individual.

1 Your personal plan explains your rights and responsibilities as a user of the service, and you know what is expected of you and what you can expect of housing support staff.

2 You will not suffer any form of abuse from housing support staff.

3 You have the right to confidentiality, unless any specific legal provision applies. Your personal plan explains how information about you will be handled and how your confidentiality will be protected.

4 You do not have to give the housing support provider any information which is not essential for your housing support services. The housing support provider will tell you why they need information about you.

5 Your personal information will be kept secure and easily available to you and anyone else you want to be able to look at it.

6 Your housing support worker will respect your privacy when talking to you and when talking to other people living in or visiting your house.

7 Your housing support worker will not gossip about you, your home or your family.

8 You will have a housing support worker who will be your usual contact with the housing support service provider.

9 Your housing support worker will deal with your requests for help politely and quickly.

Expressing your views

Standard 8
You are encouraged and helped to make your views known on any aspects of the housing support service.

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

2 You do not have to give your name when you make a comment or complaint.

3 You will know how the housing support provider monitors the quality of support it offers.

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

5 If you want, you are helped and supported to use an independent and confidential advocacy service that can act for you. Staff will have information about any service that would help you in this way.

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

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

8 You know that the manager of the housing support service will make available a copy of each inspection report so that you and your representative can look through it.