Dignity Challenge Initiative

How our home and community based support service treats Service Users and carers as individuals, with dignity and respect whilst complying with the Department of Health’s Dignity Challenge Initiative:

Our Dignity challenge methodology

1. Zero tolerance

  • Make respect for dignity important to everyone in the organisation.
  • Provide care and support in a safe environment that is free from abuse.
  • Recognise that abuse can take many forms including physical, psychological, emotional, financial and sexual, and extend to neglect or ageism.

2. Respect you would want for yourself or a member of your family

  • Treating people with respect is fundamental in our staff training and induction.
  • Provide a service that revolves around people, not around services or tasks.
  • Respect Service Users wishes in terms of being addressed.
  • Care plans should include ‘time to talk’.
  • Involve older people in service planning and act on suggestions and views.
  • Support community activities and contact between different generations to tackle preconceived ideas and discrimination against older people.

3. Individuality by offering a personalised service

  • Make sure attitude and behaviour help to preserve each person’s identity and individuality.
  • Tailor services to each individual, making them personalised not standardised.
  • Take time to get to know the person using the service and find out how formally or informally they would prefer to be addressed.

4. Maximum possible level of independence, choice and control

  • Treating Service Users as equals who are in control of what happens to them.
  • Support people by making sure they have access to jargon-free information about services whenever needed.
  • Ensure people are fully involved in decision that affects their care –  (such as what to eat, what to wear and what time to go to bed) and wider decisions about the service or establishment (such as menu planning or recruiting new staff).
  • Value the time spent supporting people with decision-making as much as the time spent doing other tasks.
  • Our Staff have the necessary skills to include people with cognitive or communication difficulties in decision-making, For example, ‘Access to documentation of a person’s previous history, preferences and habits.
  • Identify areas where people’s autonomy is being undermined in the service and look for ways to redress the balance.
  • Work with people who use services to develop local advocacy services and raise awareness of them.
  • Support Service Users who wish to use direct payments.
  • Encouraging and supporting Service Users to participate in the wider community.

5. Listen and support people to express their needs and wants

  • Respect Service Users wishes on method of address.
  • Don’t assume you know what Service Users want, always ask.
  • Care plans include ‘time to talk,’ allowing for bonding
  • Translation services provided in the short term and culturally appropriate services provided in the long term.
  • Staff have acceptable levels of both spoken and written English.
  • Allow enough time for thorough handover.

6. Respect people’s right to privacy

  • Confidentiality policy in place and followed by all staff.
  • Issues of privacy and dignity are a fundamental part of staff induction and training.
  • Only specific workers have access to people’s personal records or financial information.
  • Privacy is respected in personal and sexual relationships.
  • Interpreters only with Service Users agreement.
  • Staff get permission before entering someone’s personal space.
  • People’s personal possessions and documents are only viewed with the owner’s expressed consent.

7. Ensure people feel able to complain without fear of retribution

  • Encouraging people to raise their concerns through appropriate forums will help people to feel more comfortable in raising concerns.
  • Act promptly when people raise their concerns – reassuring people that their complaints will be listened and acted on without need for official complaint.
  • Offer advocacy or support to the complainant.
  • Keep complainant fully informed of progress.
  • Provide clear information on all parts of complaints process.
  • Staff are properly briefed on the complaints procedure.

8. Engage with family members and carers as care partners

  • Enable relatives to communicate as contributing partners.
  • Keep relatives and carers fully informed with timely information.
  • Listen and encourage relatives and carers to contribute to the benefit of the Service User.

9. Assist people to maintain confidence and a positive self-esteem

  • Provide care and support encouraging people to participate as far as they feel able.
  • Develop Service Users self-confidence and actively promote health and well-being.
  • Provide support with eating and drinking.
  • Encourage people to maintain a respectable personal appearance.

10. Act to alleviate people’s loneliness and isolation

  • Promote and support in accessing Social Networks.
  • Resolve transport issues allowing participation in the wider community.
  • Build Links with community projects, community centres and schools increases levels of social contact between people from different generations.
  • Identify People’s skills including the skills of older people gained in previous employment.
  • Use Person Centred planning giving opportunities to participate in the wider community.

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   01204 399 195

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    Frequently Asked Questions

    Why choose Mayday Homecare?

    Domiciliary (or homecare) is now the preferred choice, there is nothing quite like the comfort of your own familiar surroundings and many now choose to stay in the privacy of their own home for as long as possible while receiving care.

    How often can I have help at home?

    We can accommodate a wide variety of requirements, from the occasional hour (or part of), up to 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. We are here to provide support based on your specific wishes.

    We support your independent care

    We provide a bespoke service designed to enable you to remain as independent as possible, we offer different levels of support, as you need it, when you need it.

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