Care & Normalisation Ltd - Milestone House

Residential Home for Adults with Learning Disabilities, Physical Disablement and associated Complex Needs

WHO WE ARE
CAN (Care and Normalisation Limited) is a dynamic company conceived in the vanguard of the Community Care Act, anticipating the changing face of learning disability care in this country. The CAN concept was established in 1989 and now operates from Milestone House in Deal, Kent, a privately run unit registered with the Care Quality Commission. We are a specialist care home capable of catering to the needs of people with learning disabilities, physical disabilities and a variety of complex ancillary needs. Equal emphasis is placed on the provision of quality care within a home environment.

OUR PHILOSOPHY
Care is our byword, Normalisation our goal and CAN epitomises our concept.

We believe in empowering and enabling people we support to do things for themselves and to make decisions about their life rather than having things done for them. To this end, people are enabled to participate in a cross-section of activities and interests, limited only by the confines of their disability. O’Brien’s Five Service Accomplishments are also very much to the fore of our care delivery. People are respected as individuals, given the opportunity of informed choice wherever possible and supported to gain competence in everyday activities. Community presence and participation are achieved through involvement in the local community and the use of local recreational facilities and services. This allows people to put into practice the guidance received from the care team on interacting with the wider community in a socially acceptable way. For those people whose abilities are impaired by the level of their disability this support, in arriving at an ‘informed choice, ' is given by key-workers. Input from family and friends is strongly encouraged. This is the essence of advocacy. Person Centred plans are regularly reviewed, family members, care managers and key-workers all participate in the care plan review. We comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 and during staff induction we place special emphasis on respecting the privacy and dignity of each individual in our care. All the people we care for have their own rooms and are offered a key, if they can safely use one. Staff always knock before entering bedrooms and personal care, where needed, is sensitively and discreetly managed.

WHAT CAN WE OFFER?
Because of the variety and complexity of disablement presented by our particular client group, our care delivery is tailor-made to suit the individual’s care needs. Recognition of a person’s individuality is of paramount importance within the care package. To this end an in-depth assessment by CAN is carried out in the prospective person’s familiar environment prior to their being offered a place at Milestone House. As Milestone House is, to all intents and purposes, a close family type environment, no new person is automatically accepted as a resident without taking account of their compatibility within the home. This initial assessment forms the basis of a person’s care plan. It also provides a valuable point from which to progress towards set goals. Each person has a comprehensive annual review, formally documented, and various informal reviews and case conferences are held as required.

As every person at Milestone House is a unique individual with specific dedicated care requirements we do not have a basic fee structure. Fees are calculated after an in-depth assessment and based on the perceived care needs.

All the people received into Milestone House come on the basis of a three month trial /assessment period. However, the depth of the initial assessment is such that we are confident that all people would be permanent once received into the home. We have a policy of no emergency admissions prior to our admissions process.

Over the years CAN have developed a subtle and sympathetic approach to families of disabled people. An understanding of the stresses and pressures and an awareness of the “trauma milestones” encountered by peoples’ families is to the fore, thus easing their burden. This makes for a better understanding on the part of families of the difficulties which statutory bodies and professional carers have to deal with and therefore aids the effectiveness of care delivery.