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Contingency or Emergency Planning and Arrangements in Care at Home Policy

This policy is intended to set out the values, principles and procedures underpinning this care at home agency’s approach to making sure that it always provides a reliable service and one that will keep service users well informed and make sure that their needs are met in the event of delays and sudden staff shortages. The policy is written in line with the national health and social care standards set out in My Support, My Life, particularly:

• 4.14: My care and support is provided in a planned and safe way, including if there is an emergency or unexpected event.

This policy should be used in relation to the agency’s policy on Continuity, Consistency and Reliability of Care in Care at Home (Scotland) and Responsive Services in Care at Home (Scotland).

The policy focuses on the arrangements needed when a number of staff could be unavailable due to the spread of infectious illness, adverse weather conditions, industrial actions producing transport difficulties, security alerts, etc. That is, any set of circumstances where it becomes difficult to apply the cover arrangements that are made for individual service users as described in the continuity of care and responsive services policies.

The agency is committed to being as responsive as possible to service users’ needs and preferences in line with its legal requirements and the following principles.

1. Reliability — we make sure that the people who use our services can depend on them.
2. Flexibility — we are prepared to adjust the services we provide to meet the changing needs and circumstances of the people who use our services.
3. Continuity — our services are planned to provide the maximum degree of continuity and the fewest possible changes of the people who use our services.
4. Communication — we undertake to consult and communicate with service users and their representatives as fully as possible about their service.

Emergency Procedures

1. In the event of unforeseen, unavoidable delays that could affect a number of service users and staff, the duty manager will work to a predetermined but up-to-date set of priorities to make sure that any service user who is at risk from any failure or delay in receiving the service is contacted and visited as soon as possible.
2. All staff affected by any delay, potentially disruptive event or circumstances are expected to contact the agency as soon as possible to report any problems in carrying out their schedules of visits
3. The duty manager and other staff will undertake to make contact with every service user affected to explain any delay and to check on the individual’s situation. Further work will be based on an assessment that the person is safe or whether there might be any risks to the person’s safety and wellbeing as a result of any delay in service.
4. Where it is difficult to communicate directly with an individual service user who might be put at risk from any failure to visit or significant delay, the agency will contact a named person who has agreed to be contacted in an emergency and who is in a position to check that the person is safe. This person could be a partner, other relative, neighbour, accessible volunteer or other professional depending on the individual situation.
5. Available staff will be allocated to service users in line with their priority needs, which are based on known risks to personal safety. No person who is considered to be at risk will fail to receive a service that ensures they are kept safe and their priority needs are met.
6. If it is impossible to provide a service because of the prevailing conditions, which would only be to someone who has not been assessed as being at risk, the reasons will be clearly communicated to that person and a service will be provided at the earliest possible opportunity.
7. In deploying staff in contingencies, such as heavy snow or an epidemic of infectious illness, the agency is aware of its health and safety responsibilities to its staff and will take these into account and manage them in line with the relevant health and safety policies and procedures.

Contingency Arrangements

1. To make sure that the service is disrupted as little as possible in emergency situations, the agency has entered (or is negotiating) agreements with other registered agencies to subcontract their services if needed. Where practicable, the agency attempts to form mutual agreements so that it could also help other providers to address their emergency situations.
2. The agency has also built up a substantial bank of staff who can be called on to meet contingencies. In developing its bank, the agency is mindful of the need to enable its staff to be accessible to service users in emergency situations by recruiting them from the areas near to or in which service users live.
3. The agency is committed to close communication and working in co-operation with other agencies and professionals who might be involved with individual service users or service provision more generally to make sure that people’s needs are addressed and met. This can be particularly important where individual users are subject to contingency arrangements such as when they might have to be evacuated from their homes because of fire, flooding, damage to their property, etc.

In all the above situations, the agency will work in line with its responsive service and continuity of care policies by committing and adapting its resources to make sure that it can address the needs that have been agreed.

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Responsible Person: {{org_field_registered_manager_first_name}} {{org_field_registered_manager_last_name}}

Reviewed on: {{last_update_date}}

Next review date: this policy is reviewed annually (every 12 months). When needed, this policy is also updated in response to changes in legislation, regulation, best practices, or organisational changes.

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