Greenway Care Connect

Yes!  All you need to do is telephone us on 07376 067 980 or email greenwaycare@southmead.org

We will then arrange a face-to-face appointment to discuss the service with you and do any paperwork together.

• Because the service is not-for-profit so the money paid by care-receivers goes to the care worker with a small percentage to the community.
• It gives both the care-receiver and their care worker the autonomy to choose how to work and organise their schedules.  This guarantees choice and control.
• Care workers receive a thorough screening process which is in place to ensure the safety of care-receivers.
• We give support and advice at the Greenway Centre, Monday – Friday.
• Support plans are personalised ensuring a truly person-centred service.
• With trusted Southmead Development Trust partners we can organise free professional development opportunities for care workers including formal training and peer support.
• It is a system that supports money to stay local.

• Anyone who receives direct payment funding from the local authority.
• Anyone who self-funds their own care.

Self-employed care workers – after they have successfully completed our screening process.

Both care seekers and care workers need to register via this link> HERE

Once you have completed the registration form we will review it and contact you to arrange a face-to-face appointment.

If you cannot access the form online you can call us on 07376 067 980 or visit us at the Greenway Centre in Southmead.

1. Face-to-Face interview
2. Verification of identity
3. Verification of training
4. Enhanced DBS check and subscription to the DBS update service
5. 2 experience and/or character references
6. Proof provided of right to work in UK
7. Proof of driving licence and business insurance if necessary
8. Proof of public liability insurance
9. Completed adult safeguard training

After this process care-seekers are invited to interview their potential care workers in person so that both can assess if they are a good match.

• During the registration process care-seekers and care workers will share their preferred visit schedules with us, either via the online platform or in person.
• Care-seekers and care workers with matching schedules, care needs and skills will be able to ask for an introduction.
• Care-seekers will also be able to invite care workers to join their support teams via the online platform, or they can ask us to do that on their behalf.
• Care-seekers can have one or more care worker, depending on care needs and preference.
• Once all the introduction steps have been completed, the care-seekers and their care worker will be fully in charge of their schedule of work, without any intervention from Greenway Care Connect.

• Care workers will share their hourly rate with potential care-receivers via the online platform or through us.
• Care workers may have different rates for different activities (for instance, one rate for personal care and another rate for other activities of daily living).
• Care workers may also have different rates for different times of the day and/or bank holidays; fees will be displayed alongside their experience and qualifications on the online platform which we can help you to look at.
• Regular hourly day rates may range from £14.00 to £20.00 depending on the experience of the care worker and their qualifications.
• In addition to the care worker’s hourly rate, Greenway Care Connect will charge you an introduction and support fee:

Introduction and support fee

The fee is charged at £3.60 per hour for each hour of paid care.

The introduction and support fee pays for:

1. The recruitment and screening process of care workers.
2. Induction process for the care workers and regular updates on changes to social care regulations.
3. The assessment of the needs of the care-seeker or of a local authority support plan.
4. Continuous face-to-face support for both care workers and care-seekers at the Greenway Centre (from Greenway Care Connect staff or signposting to other services when relevant).
5. The search for and organisation of training opportunities for care workers.
6. The organisation of peer support events for care workers at the Greenway Centre for the promotion of best practice.
7. Invoicing service to those receiving care and payments to carers.
8. Making referrals for Adult Social Care assessments and reviews
9. Helping care-receivers to apply for grants if available
10. Making benefits enquiries
11. When you request it, helping to find cover if a care worker is on leave and when more/new care workers are required
12. Connecting you to activities in the community and to Occupational Therapy services

Travel costs

Some care workers will include expenses in their hourly rate (for example, mileage if they drive their clients), or they might ask for separate payment by providing you with a receipt. You will be able to discuss this with your care worker during your interview and it will be recorded in your work agreement with them.

We will invoice care-receivers with the frequency instructed by the care worker (weekly, fortnightly or monthly). Care-receivers will be able to:

• pay by bank transfer
• by cheque
• in cash at the Greenway Centre.

Greenway Care Connect will invoice care-receivers for the hours of care delivered by their care worker plus the introduction fee (12.5% +VAT per hour for the duration of the contract between the care-receiver and their care worker).

Direct payments accepted by carers will endanger their ability to secure further work with Greenway Care Connect.

• Each care worker will share with their care-receiver whether they work bank holidays or not.
• Care-receivers will be able to choose whether they want to work with a provider who delivers care on bank holidays or not.
• This can be recorded in work agreements between care workers and care-receivers.

Care-receivers may ask Greenway Care Connect for a substitute care worker if they wish.

It might be that, sometimes, we will not be able to find a substitute care worker who meets care-receivers’ needs in the way that their regular care worker does, but we will certainly try!

Asking for another care worker with plenty of notice will always increase the chances of finding the right care worker for those who need one.

This needs to be agreed between care workers and their care-receivers.

Either way, drivers need to be insured for this activity which means that care workers will need to have business car insurance, or care-receivers will need to insure their care workers to drive their cars.

If care-receiver and care worker are unable to resolve an issue individually or in partnership, they can contact Greenway Care Connect for assistance.

Greenway Care Connect can support both parties to find new matches if a relationship between a care worker and care receiver breaks down.

Greenway Care Connect will always be open to receiving feedback from its care-receivers and care worker partners.

The CQC does not require introductory agencies or independent care workers to register.

Therefore, neither Greenway Care Connect nor the independent care workers will be registered with the CQC.

However, the Greenway Care Connect recruitment and induction processes, plus the training opportunities made available by the agency, are based on the relevant CQC fundamental standards:

• Person-centred care
• Dignity and respect
• Consent
• Safety
• Safeguarding from abuse
• Good nutrition
• Complaint opportunities
• Good governance
• Appropriate staffing
• Duty of candour
• Display of any ratings or reviews