The Duke's House

Staff were skilled in supporting people to express their views and make decisions. People were listened to and they were involved in decision making in many different aspects of their care and support. There was a lot of emphasis on doing everything possible to enable good and effective communication with people living at the home and others.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Right Care: People were supported and treated well. Staff showed and the service was designed in a way that respected people as individuals.

Staff were positive about the people living at the home. It was clearly important to staff that people did well and it was obvious that staff gained satisfaction from supporting people and they expressed joy when describing to us how people were doing well. This approach from staff had a positive impact on people. We asked one person how they were doing at the home and they told us, "I'm amazing."

Each person's care and support was planned with the person and those important to them. People were helped to think about what was important to them, their likes and dislikes, how they wanted to be supported and what they wanted their future to be like.

People family members spoke positively about the care planning process. One person's relative told us, "I'm

involved in care planning, they ask me what I would like for [Name] in the next couple of years and we set goals together. It's good that they are trying different things… they are very, very responsive. All the staff are brilliant, [registered manager] has built a positive culture and now [Name] looks great, they are happy and doing so well."

Right Culture: There was a positive and empowering culture at the home, that had promoted people having positive outcomes. Staff had positive, natural and everyday interactions with people that were kind, enabling and very respectful.

People were leading full, busy and active lives, within their communities. They had been supported to expand their interests and hobbies, have new experiences, and enjoy relationships with people that were important to them.

The registered manager and other staff members were very responsive to any complaints or concerns raised with them.

Family members told us the registered manager had built up trust with them. One relative told us, "I have confidence in them now, they have gained my trust. They went out of their way to win my trust." Another family member said about the registered manager, "[Name] always keeps her word." A third family member described there being a generous spirit at the home.