Responses Framework for Care Home Providers:
Care Home Review Requirements for Action
This responses framework has been designed to allow Independent
Care Home Providers to respond easily and consistently to the
Requirements for Action set out in the Older People’s Commissioner for
Wales’ Care Home Review Report, ‘A Place to Call Home?’.
In total, there are 10 actions for independent care home providers, which
are listed below, together with guidance on how to respond. There are
no minimum word limits, but we would recommend that the maximum
number of words for each answer does not exceed 250.
Please complete your details below:
Name of Care Home Provider: ................................................................
Company Address: ..................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
Postcode: .......................................................
Nominated Responsible Individual: .......................................................
Responding on behalf of the following care home(s):
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
Business type (please delete as appropriate):
Local Authority / Independent / Third Sector / Other (please state below)
....................................................................................................................
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Required Actions for Care Home Providers
Requirement 1.2:All older people, or their advocates (where
appropriate), receive a standard ‘Welcome Pack’ upon arrival in a care
home that states how the care home manager will ensure that their
needs are met, their rights are upheld and they have the best possible
quality of life. The Welcome Pack will make explicit reference to:
 How the care home manager will support the resident as they
move into their new home.
 Standard information about their human rights in line with the
Welsh Declaration of the Rights of Older People.*
 A Statement of Entitlement to health care support.*
 Support to maintain independence, continence, mobility and
physical and emotional wellbeing.
 Ensuring their communication needs are met, including people
with sensory loss.
 Maintaining friendship and social contact.
 Support to help them maintain their independence and to continue
to be able to do the things that matter to them.
 The development and maintenance of their care and support plan
and what will be included in it.*
 Ensuring a culture of dignity and respect and choice and control
over day-to-day life.
 The skills and training of staff.
 Their right to independent advocacy and how to raise concerns. *
•
•
(The areas marked with * should be standard in format to ensure
consistency across Wales – the Commissioner has stated that
these should be developed by Welsh Government).
All areas without * are for you to respond to in your own right as a
Care Home Provider.
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Do you currently comply, or propose to comply, with Requirement 1.2 to
ensure that all residents and/or their advocates receive a ‘Welcome
Pack’?
YES / NO
If yes, please state how you currently implement, or intend to implement,
a ‘Welcome Pack’ for all residents in your care home(s) and their
advocates (where appropriate) and when this will be achieved.
If no, please state why you do not intend to provide a ‘Welcome Pack’
for all residents and advocates (where appropriate) in your care
home(s).
How do you intend to review current provisions and what action will be
taken, along with clear timelines, in response to these reviews?
Any other comments:
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Requirement 1.6: Older people are offered independent advocacy in
the following circumstances:
•
When a care home is closing.
•
When a POVA referral has been made.
•
•
•
When moving directly from hospital to a care home or from another
care home as a result of safeguarding issues.
For those with fluctuating capacity or communication difficulties,
this should be non-instructed advocacy.
When a care home is in escalating concerns, residents must have
access to non-instructed advocacy.
Do you currently comply, or propose to comply, with Requirement 1.6 to
offer older people independent advocacy in the above circumstances?
YES/ NO
If yes, please state how you currently implement or intend to implement
independent advocacy for residents in your care home(s) and by when?
If no, please state why you do not intend to implement independent
advocacy residents and advocates in your care home(?)
How do you intend to review current provisions and what action will be
taken, along with clear timelines, in response to these reviews?
Any other comments:
4
Requirement 3.2:All care home employees undertake basic dementia
training as part of their induction and all care staff and care home
managers undertake further dementia training on an on-going basis as
part of their skills and competency development, with this a specific
element of supervision and performance assessment.
Do you currently comply, or propose to comply, with Requirement 3.2 to
provide basic dementia training to all care home employees and further
dementia training on an ongoing basis to care staff and care home
managers as part of their skills and competency development, with this a
specific element of supervision ?
YES/ NO
If yes, please state how you currently implement or intend to implement
dementia training for all care home employees in your care home(s) and
by when?
If no, please state why you do not intend to implement dementia training
for all care home employees in your care home(s)?
How do you intend to review current provisions and what action will be
taken, along with clear timelines, in response to these reviews?
Any other comments:
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Requirement 3.3: Active steps should be taken to encourage the use of
befriending schemes within care homes, including intergenerational
projects, and support residents to retain existing friendships. This must
include ensuring continued access to faith based support and to specific
cultural communities.
Do you comply, or propose to comply, with Requirement 3.3 to use
befriending schemes within your care home(s), including
intergenerational projects, and support to residents to retain existing
friendships?
YES/NO
If yes, please state how you currently implement or intend to implement
befriending schemes within your care homes, including intergenerational
projects and support to residents to retain existing friendships, access to
faith based support and specific cultural communities, and by when?
If no, please state why you do not intend to implement befriending
schemes within your care homes including intergenerational projects
and support to residents to retain existing friendships, access to faith
based support and specific cultural communities?
How do you intend to review current provisions and what action will be
taken, along with clear timelines, in response to these reviews?
Any other comments:
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Requirement 4.2: A formal agreement is developed and implemented
between the care home and local primary care and specialist services
based on the Statement of Entitlement. This should include:
 Referral pathways, including open access.
 Waiting times.
 Referral and discharge information.
 Advice and information to support the on-going care of the older
person in the home.
 Access to specialist services for older people in nursing homes, in
line with the Fundamentals of Care Guidance.
This recommendation is dependent on collaboration with, and actions
by, Health Boards and local primary care; please state whether anyone
from the Health Board in your area has been in contact with your care
home(s) about the development of a formal agreement in advance of the
Statement of Entitlement?
YES/NO
Any further comments:
Requirement 5.2: The development and implementation of a national
standard acuity tool to include guidelines on staffing levels and skills
required to meet both the physical and emotional needs of older people.
This Requirement is dependent on the development of a national
standard acuity tool by Welsh Government in partnership with
stakeholders. No comment is therefore required from Care Home
providers at this stage as it is anticipated that the Welsh Government will
consult on this issue.
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Requirement 5.3: A standard set of mandatory skills and value based
competencies are developed and implemented, on a national basis, for
the recruitment of care staff in care homes.
This Requirement is dependent on the development of legislation by
Welsh Government. No comment from Care Home providers is
therefore required at this point as it is anticipated that Welsh
Government will consult on this issue.
Requirement 5.5: All care homes must have at least one member of
staff who is a dementia champion (see appendix 1 for definition).
Do you comply or propose to comply with Requirement 5.5 to have at
least one member of staff who is a dementia champion?
YES/NO
If yes, please state how you currently ensure or intend to ensure that
your care home(s) have at least one member of staff who is a dementia
champion?
If no, please state why you do not intend to ensure that your care
home(s) have at least one member of staff who is a dementia
champion?
How do you intend to review current provisions and what action will be
taken, along with clear timelines, in response to these reviews?
Any other comments:
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Requirement 6.2: Care home providers, commissioners and CSSIW
should develop informal and systematic ways in which to ensure they
better understand the quality of life of older people, through listening to
them directly (outside of formal complaints) and ensuring issues they
raise are acted upon.
This is a shared responsibility but one that is in everybody’s interest if
we are to ensure the quality of life and care of older people in care
homes in Wales.
Do you comply, or propose to comply (both in your own right as a Care
Home provider and with other bodies), to Requirement 6.2 to ensure that
you better understand the quality of life of older people, through listening
to them directly and ensuring that the issues they raise are acted upon?
YES/NO
If yes, please state how you currently ensure or intend to ensure that
your care home/s are better able to understand the quality of life of older
people, through listening to them directly and ensuring that the issues
they raise are acted upon, and by when?
If no, please state why you do not intend to ensure that your care
home(s) are better able to understand the quality of life of older people,
through listening to them directly and ensuring that the issues they raise
are acted upon?
How do you intend to review current provisions and what action will be
taken, along with clear timelines, in response to these reviews?
Any other comments:
NB: Annual reporting should be undertaken of how on-going feedback
from older people has been used to drive continuous improvement (see
below).
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Requirement 6.10: Care home providers report annually on the delivery
of quality of life and care for older people1. This will include:
 Quality of life of older people against the Standard Quality
Framework and Supporting Specification.
 Levels and skills of staff including staff turnover, use of agency
staff and investment in training.
 Number of POVA referrals, complaints and improvement notices,
including full details on improvement action when a home is in
escalating concerns.
Do you currently comply, or propose to comply, with Requirement 6.10
to report annually on the delivery of quality of life and care for older
people in your care home/s?
YES/NO
If yes, please state how you currently implement or intend to implement
the Requirement to report annually on the delivery of quality of life and
care for older people in your care home(s), and by when?
If no, please state why you do not intend to implement the Requirement
to report annually on the delivery of quality of life and care for older
people in your care home(s)?
How do you intend to review current provisions and what action will be
taken, along with clear timelines, in response to these reviews?
1
The Welsh Government’s Regulation and Inspection White paper stated that it intended to put an annual
statutory reporting duty on Care Home Providers. As Commissioner, the bullet points above outline the areas
that I have identified as key indicators for the quality of life of older people in care homes. This information, if
shared in an accessible and concise format, will allow older people to make meaningful choices about their
future or current care home/s. My expectation is that my Requirements will feed into the Regulation and
Inspection Bill, and will therefore provide a level of existing public assurance that will be built on to avoid
duplication of paperwork.
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Any other comments:
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Signed: ..................................................
Name: ..................................................
Date: ......................................
Thank you for your response to the Older People’s Commissioner for
Wales’ Requirements for Action, issued under Section 3 of the
Commissioner for Older People (Wales) Act 2006.
Please complete and submit this form by 2 February 2015.
Should you have any queries or require any further information about the
Review or Requirements for Action, please contact Daisy Cole on 08442
640670 or email
[email protected]
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Appendix 1: What does the Commissioner mean by a Dementia
Champion?
A dementia champion is a vehicle for promoting care home ownership of
good practice in the quality of life and care of older people living with
dementia in care homes.
The Commissioner’s review found that where individuals or teams were
supported to understand, engage and champion the rights and lived
experiences of people with dementia: that residents were happier,
‘challenging’ behaviour reduced and staff reported higher levels of
satisfaction in their work. Most importantly, these homes were found to
deliver great outcomes for all residents.
The Commissioner is not wedded to a specific way of implementing a
dementia champion or programme within care homes but she will want
to see what action you have or will take to ensure the delivery and
ongoing improvement of quality of life and care outcomes for older
people living with dementia and emotional frailty . This could be through
the support of an external or internal change programme or supporting a
nominated, enthusiastic and motivated individual who you will empower
to drive organisational change, be a model of good practice and
challenge poor care outcomes.
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