Track Back

Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to questions people frequently ask us, on subjects such as safeguarding your privacy and personal information, care standards, our insurance cover, funding issues, etc.

Rather than answer specific questions, we've grouped the questions asked into subject areas and written a section addressing the questions relating to each subject. As new questions are asked, we update the relevant section accordingly.

All the sections are listed on this page in alphabetical order. You can jump directly to the section of interest by selecting it from the drop-down menu below (subjects listed alphabetically) and clicking 'Go', or you can scroll down the page to read all the sections.

Frequently Asked Questions - Subjects

❖ Care2Care Services and other Organisations

Care2Care and Commercial Organisations
If you search the internet you will find a number of businesses using the Care2Care name in the UK, both as a company name and as a brand name for a service. As some of these businesses are operating in the Health and Social Care sector, this can lead to confusion amongst existing and potential clients (and business partners). This was brought home to us recently when we received several telephone calls over a period of months about our home care services in Oxfordshire and Berkshire. (Very interesting, as we do not operate outside South Yorkshire!). This kind of confusion can also have potentially serious implications for the professional reputation of the company, therefore we would like to remove as much of this confusion as we can.
Care2Care Training Services Ltd (the parent company of Care2Care Services and Care2Care Training) is a family owned business founded in 2004 by Qamar Ashmore, a former Training Manager and Registered Care Home Manager with one of Sheffield's largest care providers, to provide high quality training for all levels of care workers, business support staff and managers. Following Care2Care Training's success, Care2Care Services was launched in 2008 to provide the kind of high quality care services Qamar and her staff have been committed to throughout their long careers in health and social care.
Care2Care Training Services Ltd (Care2Care Services and Care2Care Training) is based in Sheffield and operates throughout South Yorkshire (with Care2Care Training also operating in other parts of Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire). The company is an independent family owned business, and has no connection whatsoever with any other organisation using the Care2Care name. Care2Care does not run, or operate as part of, a franchise business.
Care2Care Training Services Ltd is a commercial operation, and will, like most businesses, occasionally enter into mutually beneficial commercial arrangements with other businesses. Also, as a provider of health care services, and health and social care training we will seek to develop relationships with, and provide those services to, commercial organisations in the Health and Social Care sector. It is our intention that any such arrangements are made public through this website.
Care2Care and Non-Commercial Organisations
Due to the nature of our business interests, Care2Care Training Services Ltd (Care2Care Services and Care2Care Training) has extensive dealings with non-commercial organisations and Public Sector bodies, covering the provision of health care services, and health and social care training. These relationships are normally a matter of public record.
Top of Page

Accessing Our Care Services

Accessing Our Barnsley Area Care Services
Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council's Care and Assessment Team or Memory Assessment Team deal with all requests for access to Dementia Well-Being Day Care in Barnsley.
Accessing Our Sheffield Area Care Services
Requests for care services are taken from a variety of sources across the city, including Social Care and Health Departments, the Health Authority, or GPs, and people who wish to pay for their care privately or their family and friends.
When your referral has been accepted by Care2Care Services, we will contact you as soon as possible. You will be offered an assessment of need by one of Care2Care's Care Managers. This may be by telephone or a visit to your (your family's/carer's) home.
After the assessment of need and eligibility is confirmed, you will be offered access to the service if it meets the assessed need. A Care2Care Care Manager will visit you at your home to agree any transport/social arrangements and start date etc.
Top of Page

Arranging Your Care

Contact us and make an appointment for us to visit you for an informal chat about how we can meet your care needs. We are happy to visit you at home to discuss ways we can help and then once you have decided, you simply leave the rest to us.
Top of Page

Care Costs

We have a range of prices depending on your care needs and/or services required. Our rates are competitive and vary based on the level of care or service you need.
As the cost of your care will depend on the level of care or service you ask us to provide, one of our Care Managers will make an individual assessment of your needs. This will be provided to you free of charge and without obligation, together with advice concerning the funding options available to you.
You won't need to enter into a contract for your care, as we don't believe in locking people into lengthy agreements. We hope the quality of our service is all you'll need to convince you to continue using us. If you do decide not to continue using us, all you have to do is give us 5 working days notice of your intentions.
If you require further information, please do not hesitate to contact us. We will be happy to help, either over the phone, or if you prefer we can arrange to visit you in your own home.
Top of Page

Care Standards

Care2Care Services is registered with and inspected by the Care Quality Commission as a domiciliary care provider. The Commission's latest inspection report can be viewed via the link on the About Care2Care page.
Top of Page

Changes to Your Care Requirements

Managing the changing care needs of our clients is an important part of the service we offer.
We keep the care we are providing to our clients under constant review to ensure it is appropriate and continues to meet their needs. If we have any concerns we will raise them with the client (or their family/designated carer) at the earliest opportunity, and may suggest a formal care review or reassessment be carried out. In addition, we carry out formal care and service reviews with our clients (or their family/designated carers) at intervals agreed with them as part of their care package.
If our client's circumstances change, or they wish to request a review, or they have any concerns about their care or the service they are receiving, they (or their family/designated carers) should not hesitate to contact our Care Manager directly.
Top of Page

Disability Access and Facilities

Access
Our Barnsley Day Centre is fully wheelchair accessible.
Our Sheffield Day Centre is fully wheelchair accessible and has a lift.
Facilities
Our Barnsley Day Centre has a wheelchair accessible toilet.
Our Sheffield Day Centre has a wheelchair accessible toilet and shower-room.
Top of Page

Funding Your Care

Some people may wish to fund their care privately, others will be entitled to assistance with the cost of their care either from their local Social Services office or via other Government grants.
Anyone interested in our services is offered a 'no cost, no obligation' assessment with one of our Care Managers, together with advice concerning the funding options available to them.
If you require further information, please do not hesitate to contact us. We will be happy to help, either over the phone, or if you prefer we can arrange to visit you in your own home.
Top of Page

Geographical Area covered by Care2Care Services

Care2Care Services is based in Sheffield and operates only in South Yorkshire. We currently have Day Care Centres in Barnsley and Sheffield.
Top of Page

Minimum period that can be booked/Try us out first

You won't need to enter into a contract for your care, as we don't believe in locking people into lengthy agreements. The minimum period you can book one of our support workers for is just two hours.
So, if you wish you can try us out at any time, and then decide how often and for how long you need our service.
Top of Page

Not happy with the care you receive or the service we provide?

Occasionally, a client may not be happy with the care they receive or the service we provide. Fortunately it doesn't happen very often. However, when it does we need to know about it as soon as possible, so we can deal with the difficulties being experienced in a timely and effective manner.
Below we deal with each of these areas in turn by outlining what our clients can do to help us identify and deal with the difficulties they are experiencing, and what we can do to resolve them.
Not happy with the care you receive?
If you're not happy with the care you receive, please don't hesitate to talk to your Support Worker about it. If you're not happy with the way the Support Worker deals with the issues you raise, or you would rather speak to someone at a more senior level, please contact our Care Quality Manager directly. Hopefully, the issues you raise will be resolved at this stage and no further action will be needed on your part.
Should this not be the case, we will suggest a care review/reassessment be carried out to ensure the care you are receiving is appropriate, meets your needs and is being delivered correctly. As this kind of review relates directly to the client's care, it will require the participation of the client (their family/designated carer), our Care Quality Manager, and possibly other health and social care professionals involved in the client's care.
If, at the end of the review, the client feels the issues raised have not been resolved, they may wish to make a formal complaint. We will provide a copy of our complaints procedure, which explains clearly how to do this.
Not happy with the service we provide?
If you're not happy with the service we provide, please don't hesitate to talk to your Support Worker about it. If you're not happy with the way the Support Worker deals with the issues you raise, or you would rather speak to someone at a more senior level, please contact our Care Quality Manager directly. Hopefully, the issues you raise will be resolved at this stage and no further action will be needed on your part.
Should this not be the case, we will suggest a Care Plan and service review be carried out to ensure the care you are receiving is being delivered correctly. This review will require the participation of the client (their family/designated carer) and our Care Quality Manager.
If, at the end of the review, the client feels the issues raised have not been resolved, they may wish to make a formal complaint. We will provide a copy of our complaints procedure, which explains clearly how to do this.
Top of Page

Office Hours and Out-of-hours/Emergency Contact

Normal Office Hours
Telephone: 0114 317 7942
Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.00pm
Saturday and Sunday Closed
Bank Holidays Closed
Out-of-hours/Emergency Service
Telephone: 0750 627 8751
Monday to Friday 7.00am to 9.00am
5.00pm to 10.00pm
Saturday and Sunday 7.00am to 10.00pm
Bank Holidays (including
Christmas and New Year)		 7.00am to 10.00pm
Top of Page

Our Liability Insurance

Care2Care has appropriate Public Liability, Professional Indemnity and Employer's Liability insurance.
Top of Page

Paying for Your Care

We send an invoice at the end of each month which can be paid by Cheque or Direct Debit. The invoices will be sent to yourself or whoever you have chosen to pay your invoice - this can be the Council, a family member or a managing agent.
Top of Page

Safeguarding Your Privacy and Personal Information

Your Privacy and Personal Information
We are strongly committed to the privacy of our clients and their personal information.
In the course of our work we receive personal and sometimes sensitive information about our clients - from the clients themselves, their families/carers, and health and social care professionals. We need this information to do our job of providing care and support effectively. However, we also have a responsibility and a legal obligation to safeguard that information and protect our clients privacy.
Therefore, we treat the information we receive from, and about, our clients as confidential. We will never collect and store information about them without their permission, and will always take the necessary steps to ensure that the information is protected and treated securely. We retain a client's personal information only for as long as it is required for the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law.
Occasionally we may have to share our client's information with other health and social care professionals. We will only do this if there is a very good reason to do so and if we are legally able to. If we can we will contact our client (or their family/designated carer) first to tell them how we plan to share their information, and ask their permission to do so.
Care2Care Training Services Ltd (Care2Care Services and Care2Care Training) is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (registration number Z9400494) as the data controller of any personal information collected during the course of its business, and will process such data in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.
Care2Care Services Website
We do not capture and store personal information, collect personally identifiable information about you, share information with third party websites, or track your movements for any purpose on this or any other website operated by Care2Care Training Services Ltd.
This statement only covers the websites operated by Care2Care Training Services Ltd. It does not cover any third party websites which may be accessed via links from this website.
The Use of Web Browser Cookies on this Website
We do not use web browser cookies of any kind on this or any other website operated by Care2Care Training Services Ltd.
This statement only covers the websites operated by Care2Care Training Services Ltd. It does not cover any third party websites which may be accessed via links from this website.
Top of Page

Staff Selection and Screening

We operate a thorough four-stage employee selection and screening process, as follows:
  • All candidates for employment have to submit an application form that requires them to include:
    • Details of previous employment giving employer name, position(s) held, period of employment and reason(s) for leaving.
    • Details of a minimum of two referees.
    • A statement of how they meet our person specification, and the requirements of the position they are applying for as given in the job description.
    • A personal statement explaining why they are suitable to work in health and social care, and what they can contribute to Care2Care Services and its service users.
  • All the application forms are assessed and suitable candidates are interviewed. We only interview those we feel have the background we're looking for, as the interview is as much about character as it is about qualifications and experience.
    • Only those with all the right qualities will pass this stage.
  • All successful interview candidates are then thoroughly background checked - referees are contacted, identities are confirmed, and an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check is conducted.
    • Only those who pass this stage will be considered for employment. The successful candidate(s) will be offered employment for a 12-week probationary period, which will include the fourth stage of the selection process.
  • All probationary care and support staff must successfully complete a 12-week training and assessment period. This comprises all the mandatory care training, as defined by Skills for Care, which includes:
    • Health and Safety
    • Food Safety
    • Moving and Handling
    • First Aid
    • Infection Control and Safeguarding
    • Duty of Care
    • Equality and Diversity
    • Privacy and Dignity
    as a minimum; together with practical experience in a work situation monitored by an experienced Care2Care Services staff member.
    Probationary administrative staff undergo a similar period of training and assessment covering:
    • Customer Service
    • Communication
    • Administration (relevant to health and social care)
    • Recording and Report Writing
    • Health and Safety
    • Fire Safety
    • Moving and Handling
    • First Aid
    • Equality and Diversity
    • Privacy and Dignity
    All the above training is carried out by Care2Care Training to allow us to guarantee the quality and consistency of the training provided, and to enable us to assess staff during training.
    Only those who successfully complete this stage will have their employment confirmed.
Top of Page

Staff Supervision and Monitoring

All our staff are subject to continuous supervision and monitoring as described in our Staff Supervision Policy.
The aims of our supervision and monitoring are to:
  • Maintain and improve good practice within the company.
  • Offer support and encouragement to staff to enable them to function effectively within their job role.
  • Ensure that staff have the necessary competence to do their job effectively.
  • Review staff performance, training and development, and produce a training and development plan for each member of staff.
  • Facilitate and maintain effective communication between staff and their managers.
Supervision and monitoring comprises three parts, as follows:
  • Annual Reviews

    • All our staff have an individual annual review, which amongst other things is used to review their development and establish their training and development needs for the following year.

  • Work Place Monitoring and Assessment

    • All our staff are subject to regular monitoring and assessment in the workplace. This is carried out by an experienced Care2Care Services staff member, and discussed with the member of staff on completion.

  • Client Feedback

    • Client feedback is an important part of our staff supervision and monitoring (and our quality assurance) as it provides us with direct input from the people who matter - our clients. It also provides us with an invaluable insight into how our clients view our staff, our service and our company.

    We regularly seek feedback from our clients by making quality assurance visits and by sending out questionnaires for them to complete.

    We also actively encourage them to make any comments, suggestions or complaints they may have to their Support Worker or directly to our Care Manager. A copy of our "What to do if you have a comment, suggestion or complaint" leaflet is supplied to all our clients as part of their Welcome Pack.

    Client feedback is always passed on to the relevant members of staff, and discussed with them appropriately.

Top of Page

Staff Training

All our staff undergo a 12-week probationary training and assessment period as part of our staff selection process.
After completing the probationary period all staff have an individual annual review, which amongst other things is used to review their development and establish their training and development needs for the following year.
All our staff training is carried out by Care2Care Training to allow us to guarantee the quality and consistency of the training provided, and to enable us to assess staff during training.
Top of Page

We hope you found our website helpful. However, if you still have unanswered questions or just need more information, please don't hesitate to contact us by phone, email or in writing. We will be happy to help you.

Top of Page

Our current range of care services include:

  • Care2Care Companionship provides a range of non-personal care and companionship services (such as cleaning, laundry, gardening, shopping, escorting, etc.) tailored to the individual's needs.
  • Care2Care Home Care provides a range of personal care and support services in the familiar surroundings of your own home, all tailored to meet the individual needs of adults of all ages, older people with special needs, and unpaid carers needing respite care services.
  • Care2Care Day Care is for anyone aged 65 or over wishing to live the kind of life they want to live. It is designed to provide older people living independently with extra companionship and support in their daily life.
  • Muslim Elders Day Care is for members of Sheffield's Muslim community aged 65 or over. It is designed to provide a range of facilities and services relevant to the older members of the Muslim community.
  • Dementia Well-Being Day Care is a day care service with a range of facilities and services relevant to the needs of people with dementia and early onset dementia. It is designed to provide a friendly place for people with dementia to socialise and take part in a planned programme of social activities to provide entertainment, stimulation and aid rehabilitation.
  • Residential care is provided at our Westbourne House care home in Sheffield. It provides personal care and accommodation for up to 11 adults with differing mental health needs.

We also offer Carer Support Services to help with care planning and to alleviate the day-to-day pressures of caring, including:

  • Care Support Planning for anyone needing advice, help and support in developing a care support plan. Care2Care Services is a Sheffield City Council approved provider for Support Planning services.
  • Careing4Carers provides carers with help and support when and where they need it. By combining elements of our Companionship, Home Care and Day Care services we are able to provide a flexible, customisable package to suit the needs of individual carers to help them meet short- and medium-term commitments as they arise.

Care2Care Services - Professional, Dedicated, Dependable Care Services

Tel: 0114 317 7942

Email: info@care2careservices.co.uk - Web: www.care2careservices.co.uk