Preparing for community staff to visit your home

Community care

The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust community services include the district nursing service, specialist services, 0-19 children’s services, maternity services, therapy and dieticians. This information explains how you can help to make sure that community staff can provide care safely in your home.

When we work in your home, there may be risks to staff safety or wellbeing. Making you aware of what some of these are helps you to get ready before community staff visit you.

If you have been unwell or in contact with someone who has been unwell

If you have been unwell with something infectious such as sickness or diarrhoea in the last 3 days, or have been in contact with someone who is unwell with something infectious, please tell us.

Finding where you live

If your property is difficult to find or does not have local parking please tell us this before your visit.

Your home

Please make sure there is enough space for us to work. Please make sure there is a clutter-free route to bring equipment in and out. Please make sure there is access to a sink for handwashing.

Pets

Some staff have pet allergies; please tell us if you have pets before we come. Please keep all animals shut away or secured on a lead when we visit. Even very friendly dogs may become aggressive with strangers in their home.

Smoking

Second-hand smoke is harmful to our staff. We ask you not to smoke while we are in your home and for an hour before we arrive.

Violence and aggression

Health staff are in your home to provide your care. We will not accept discrimination, aggression or violence (verbal or physical) against staff from patients or anyone else at the property. We have a zero tolerance policy and reserve the right to report any criminal behaviour to the police.

Training

Sometimes there will be two staff present. This helps new staff and students gain experience, and/or may be necessary for your treatment and care.

Clothing

Please, when you can be, be fully dressed. This includes other household members too.

If you feel you may have a problem meeting any of these, please contact your healthcare professional.

Our policy

We want all our staff to go home safely at the end of their working day. If we cannot work safely in your home, we will need to look at how we provide your care. This could mean providing care at a clinic instead of your home. If staff are hurt, abused (verbally or physically), attacked or bitten by your pet, we have to follow policies on reporting these and may need to report the incident to the police. In some cases, we may need to stop providing care completely. Please do everything you can to help keep our staff safe when they provide care in your home.

If you have any compliments, comments, concerns or complaints and would like to speak to somebody about them please call 01709 424461 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm) or email us at your.experience@nhs.net.