Practice Guidance - Home Support Workers and Rehabilitation Assisstants

6.1 Some guidance can be found in the Community Steps Procedures and in the Disrupted Rotas policy

6.2   Where staff depend on individuals for access, they must allow time for people to get to the door and check whether they can hear the bell/knocker.

6.3   If there is no reply, staff should check the windows and call/look through the letterbox. If staff cannot see the person they should then try to telephone them to see if there is any response. If this telephone call produces no response, then the member of staff should make enquiries of the warden and check with any neighbours without sharing any personal information.

6.4   If staff still cannot ascertain the whereabouts of the person, they should contact their offices to see if any message has been left there which might indicate their whereabouts. The manager will then:

• Telephone any other contact numbers e.g. relatives and family
• Telephone any other agency involved in the service user’s care e.g. District Nurse, CPN, hospital etc.

6.5   If a person can be seen to be collapsed or in such a condition that warrants extreme concern to their well-being, then the Home Support worker/ rehabilitation assistant must call the emergency services and alert their line manager/Home support Officer or the Out of Hours team depending on the time of day. The staff member must remain at the address until the emergency services arrive and pass on any relevant information. The line manager/Home Support Officer will also contact any known family or contacts to alert them of the situation. The line manager/Home Support Officer can then re-schedule the worker’s rota and inform service users of any possible delay. In some circumstances it may be appropriate for the Line manager /Home Support officer/ to go out to support the member of staff.

6.6   If there is still no response or sign of the person, then staff must report to their line manager so that they can check their details based on what knowledge they have of them and what the possible reasons for the no response might be.

6.7   If there is no information that confirms, without any doubt, that the person is out then it must be assumed that they are in the premises and unwell. The line manager/Home Support Officer/ Out of Hours co-ordinator must then take the decision to call the emergency services and ask the staff member to wait.

6.8   The Service co-ordinator/ Home Support officer/line manager will contact the duty officer or Emergency duty team to inform them of the situation.

6.9   A decision will be made by the line manager as to whether the Home Support worker/ rehabilitation assistant should stay at the premises until the situation is resolved or call back later. The Service co- coordinator/Home Support officer/line manager will inform all relevant persons of any outcome.

6.10 The office based manager must record all these details on the individual’s file and on ERIC because the monitoring of repeated incidences of a failure to gain entry may indicate that a review is necessary.

6.11   If a member of staff is refused entry by a person or their carer(s), then the line manager must be informed and the incident recorded on the personal file or on ERIC. The procedures in the Disrupted Rotas Policy must be adhered to. Once again if there are repeated incidences of denial of access then a review will be necessary to ascertain how the situation can be resolved.