When you need help caring for the ones you love, you want to ensure you are employing people that you can trust. You want to know that they will be gentle, care for them properly, and that your loved ones will be treated with kindness and compassion. Care is never an easy choice, and we want to help ease your mind.
The Care Inspectorate in Scotland has strict rules and regulations in place to ensure that care companies strive to meet the highest possible standards. At Kippen Care Services, we tick every box and go above and beyond to make sure our patients are well looked after.
How We Operate
It is important to us that every patient benefits from personalised care, and we always strive to ensure that their needs are met. Our staff are highly trained and fully qualified carers, which means they know exactly how to handle any obstacles that arise.
We are able to offer support with medication, whether that means helping you remain independent in your self-management or helping you to avoid dosage errors. Allowing you to live your life the way you want to is at the top of our priority list. We are here as a form of support, and we never intend to hold you back.
Accepting care can be a very difficult path to take, and we will always respect and consult your wishes throughout the process. We never want to feel like an invasion in your life, and our intention is to stay in place as a gentle support system to help lift you through difficult times.
Support in Independence
Being independent isn’t just a physical concept; there are several other aspects of your life that you can be independent in. This includes social, emotional, and intellectual. At Kippen Care, we strive to give you all four forms of independence to the best of our ability.
We know how frustrating it can be when it feels like everyone insists on doing everything for you and won’t let you at least try to do things for yourself. Patient care isn’t just about the physical aspects for us; we want to give patients the opportunity to have that social, emotional, and intellectual independence again so that they can feel respected and more human.
Standards of Care
Since our founding in the 1990s, the standards of care have changed several times. The latest was in 2018 when Scotland’s Health and Social Care Standards came into effect and replaced the National Care Standards.
As a result, we always make sure we are well-versed in any and all changes to the standards of care expected from us so that we can meet and exceed them. This includes ensuring that we pass any and all inspections from the Care Inspectorate, which we do every time.
The current standards of care dictate that patients must be fully involved in any and all decisions regarding their care, that they must feel confident in those providing the care, and that the care they do experience is of exceptionally high quality.
It requires operation without discrimination, and we are proud of the fact that each of our staff members has gone through diversity training to uphold the strict values found in Scotland’s Health and Social Care Standards as well as within Kippen Care.
Staff Choices
Everyone has the right to feel comfortable when they are being cared for, and this is why we make sure to employ both male and female carers. That way, patients can request the gender they are comfortable with so that we can ensure you feel safe whenever we visit.
We always do our best to fulfill any and all requests regarding the staff that comes to care for our patients, and we understand how important it is to feel safe in your own home. Similarly, if patients do not have a preference for their care, we will send out the carers we have available.
Protecting Our Patients
We know that there are always concerns that carers could take advantage of vulnerable patients, and this is something that is often expressed by family members or patients themselves. However, we have several safeguards in place to keep them safe in addition to our staff gender choice policy.
For some patients, carers will be entrusted with handling money. This can involve collecting pensions, picking up shopping, or paying bills. When this happens, staff will be required to fill in a financial document in your folder and must also bring you a receipt. Additionally, all change must be counted in front of you so that you know you have the correct amount.
Our carers are also not allowed to accept gifts of any kind or charity donations, and they are not to benefit from the will of any patients or act as the executor of the will. They cannot accept loans, and they cannot recommend friends or family members to carry out work on your home.
While it is unusual for carers to need a key to the home of any patients, in situations where this is required, they must go through a strict process to record this, and the key must be kept in a locked key safe until it is needed – the opening of which will be recorded each time. This keeps our patients safe and ensures their security.
Confidentiality
All patient information is legally required to be kept private and confidential, and at Kippen Care, we make sure to enforce this. While there is some information that will need to be shared with other staff who care for you, you will always be notified first and made part of the conversation. Outside of the workplace, your information is completely safe and not to be discussed.
To Conclude
We hope that this has been able to give you further insight into the standards of care that we provide. At Kippen Care, we want to ensure that our patients have an excellent experience and that they are happy and well-cared for at all times.
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact us via telephone or email at any time. We’re happy to help and ease your mind.