The Dispensary

This was the first rated inspection of the service. A registered manager was in place. The registered manager is registered with the Commission and is legally responsible to ensure that the service is compliant with legal and regulatory requirements.

We assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. We found the provider was meeting the values of ‘Right support, right care, right culture.’ People were supported to express their views and opinions in various ways. People had different ways of communicating and staff understood how best to share information for people to make their own choices and decisions.

The Dispensary was well-led. The provider's vision and values were truly person-centred to make sure people were at the heart of the service. This vision was driven by the leadership of the registered manager. The provider, registered manager and staff team were passionate about people's well-being and went above and beyond to help people achieve their goals and aspirations by building their confidence and breaking down barriers to increase independence.

The staff team supported some people with complex needs. There was clear evidence of collaborative working and excellent communication with other professionals to help meet people's needs. People were encouraged and supported to lead as fulfilled a life as possible. They were supported to follow their dreams and aspirations. Staff had facilitated people to participate in numerous activities and interests which enhanced their quality of life. The provider, registeredmanager and staff team were passionate about people's well-being and went above and beyond to help people achieve their goals and aspirations by building their confidence and breaking down barriers to increase independence. Relatives and professionals described how people received excellent personalised care and support that was tailored to people’s needs and preferences.

The service was flexible and adapted to people's changing needs and wishes and promoted their independence. Care was completely centred and tailored to each individual. There were examples of significant improvements to the well-being of people due to the person-centred care they received. Risk assessments were in place, and they identified current risks to the person as well as ways for staff to minimise or appropriately manage those risks, including positive risk taking.

People's diversity as unique individuals with their own needs was well-respected by staff. The staff team knew people extremely well and provided support discreetly and with compassion. People’s privacy was respected, and people were supported to maintain contact with relatives and friends.
Staffing capacity was sufficient and staff deployment was effective to ensure people's needs were met in a safe, timely, person-centred and consistent way. Systems were in place for people to receive their medicines in a safe way. Staff were encouraged to continue their professional development in order to progress and provide the best outcomes for people. Staff demonstrated that they really understood the importance and benefits of providing person-centred care.

The culture of the service was extremely friendly, open and transparent where people's and staff voices were listened to in order to continually improve the quality of care. People, relatives and staff were confident about approaching the registered manager if they needed to. They recognised that their views and feedback were valued and respected and consistently used to support quality service development.The registered manager and provider were continually developing the service to meet and maximise people's outcomes. Effective auditing systems were in place.