Adult Social Care

Adult social care service standards

Adult Social Care provides services and support for disabled people who may have a physical or sensory impairment, adults with learning disabilities, people with mental ill health and adults whose independence is at risk due to age or frailty. We also provide services to those people who may be at risk of abuse or neglect.

What do we do?

Adult social care provides the following services to adults aged 18 and over:

  • Support to regain independent living skills.
  • Personal care in the home.
  • Equipment and adaptations to help cope with a disability or frailty.
  • Residential care – in many different types of homes.
  • Day services for social educational and work activities or to help speed recovery.
  • Payments to allow people to arrange their own care either through individual budget or direct payments.
  • Enable people to direct their own care and support needs through increasing choice and control.
  • Safeguarding Adults

Dignity in Care

Liverpool’s Dignity in Care Charter is a joint initiative between Liverpool City Council, Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group, Liverpool Health and Social Care Champions and representatives of the city’s service users and carers.

All staff working in Health and Social Care are aware of and are committed to the Dignity in Care Charter for Liverpool.

You can download a copy of the Dignity Charter below.

Essential Standards of Quality and Safety

Liverpool City Council Adult Health and Social Care are committed to providing the excellent services which meet the needs of individuals and which conform to the standards as laid down by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The Care Quality Commission is the body which is responsible for the regulation of all health and social care services in England.

CQC has produced 5 Essential Standards of Care against which all social care services will be measured. These essential standards form the basis of our quality care standards for adult services. To view the standards visit the CQC website.

The standards are as follows:

If you receive a social care service you can expect:

  1. To be involved and told what’s happening at every stage of your care.
  2. Care, treatments and support that meets your needs.
  3. To be safe.
  4. To be cared for by qualified staff.
  5. Your care provider to constantly check the quality of its services.

Standards for communicating with you

We will:

  • Treat you with courtesy and respect.
  • Use plain language and avoid the use of jargon in all our communications with you.
  • Make information about services widely available in ways that meet the needs of the individual, using different formats and methods when required.
  • Try and resolve your enquiry at first point of contact.
  • Actively encourage your views and comments to help us improve our service.
  • We will investigate and resolve complaints in line with our complaints procedure.

General standards

We will:

  • Make sure that our buildings are safe and accessible, and that any equipment we use with you is safe and fit for purpose.
  • Make sure that appropriate checks are made on staff we recruit to work with you.
  • Ensure that all are staff are trained appropriately and work within our policy and procedures.
  • Make sure all our staff have their training and performance regularly reviewed.
  • Coordinate any care and services that you receive to make sure that you are safe and the care and support you receive is consistent.
  • Ensure that if you need the help of an advocate that this is available to you.

We work in partnership with the Liverpool Advocacy Rights Hub. The Advocacy Rights Hub provides independent information and advice and can signpost you to appropriate services and support.

Assessment

We will:

  • Make sure that you are always involved in any discussion about your care and we will respect your privacy and dignity at times.
  • Always support and promote your independence when planning or providing care.
  • Handle your personal information in line with legislation and with due regard for your confidentiality.
  • Undertake to ensure that your assessment is completed within four weeks of you first contacting us - in exceptional circumstance this may not be possible but we will contact you and tell you the reasons for this.
  • Advise you if assessment is not the right option for you and you will be signposted to appropriate services or given relevant information.
  • Tell you about the assessment process and who is involved in it.
  • Provide copies of the assessment and plans that have been agreed with you.
  • Take into account your cultural, religious and lifestyle needs when planning with you.
  • Provide you with an individual plan care / support plan in which your needs and desired outcomes are identified and the ways in which these will be met are set out.
  • Ensure that your needs are reassessed in a planned way and the outcomes in your care plan will be reviewed, and your care plan updated at least yearly.
  • Always tell you if there are any charges, how much they will be and how we have worked them out.
  • Make sure that you can make informed choices about the care and support that is available and your rights to agree or reject any care, or support before you receive it.

Standards for Day Services

We will:

  • Provide services in an environment that is suitable to your needs.
  • Provide services which reflect your individual plan for social, personal and health support.
  • Offer services which are sensitive to your cultural, religious and lifestyle needs.
  • Make sure that where meals are provided they will be nutritious and sensitive to your cultural, religious, and dietary needs and a choice will be offered.
  • Make sure that staff are appropriately trained and that the right numbers of staff are available to ensure your safety.
  • Carry out regular checks to ensure the quality of services.
  • Ensure that the Staff who provide services adhere to the Multi agency Safeguarding Adults Policy.
  • Provide services that balance risk management and safety with choice.
  • Ensure that all staff are aware of and sign up to Liverpool’s Dignity in Care Charter and respect your right to dignity in care.
  • Support you to maintain responsibility for your own medication. When this is not possible we will make sure you get the medication you need when you need them in a safe way.

Standards for Care at Home

We will:

  • Give you a written contract or statement of terms and conditions under which your care is provided.
  • Provide a flexible, consistent and reliable service in a way that meets the outcomes identified in your care/ support plan.
  • Provide services which reflect your care needs and preferences.
  • Provide services with risk management and safety being their prime consideration.
  • Ensure that your financial interest and property to be secure, safeguarded and protected.
  • Ensure that all services adhere to the multi – agency Safeguarding Adults protocols at all times.
  • Record key events and activities, these records will be kept in your own home.
  • Support you to maintain responsibility for your own medication. When this is not possible we will make sure you get the medication you need when you need them in a safe way.

Residential services for Adults

We will:

  • Give you a written contract / agreement with the home which will be written in a use friendly format.
  • Agree an individual plan of care which sets out how your health and social and personal care needs will be met in a way which maximise your independence.
  • Support you to maintain contact with your family, friends and the local community as you wish.
  • Provide a room that will suit your needs, be safe, clean, and comfortable and wherever possible provide space for your own possessions.
  • Ensure that your needs to be met by adequate numbers of appropriately trained staff.
  • Ensure that your financial interest are safeguarded.
  • Support you to maintain responsibility for your own medication. When this is not possible we will make sure you get the medication you need when you need them in a safe way.

Feedback about the services you receive

We would like to hear what you think of the services that we provide. If we are doing something well, or you think that we could do something better please tell us.

If you have a comment, compliment or complaint about the services that we provide you can contact us using the Adult Social Care feedback and complaints process.