The Durnford Society Ltd Head Office

The Durnford Society Domiciliary Care Service provides care and support to people living in a 'supported living' setting, so that they can live as independently as possible. People's care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people's personal care and support.

The service supports some people on a 24-hour basis and others who may require support with personal care needs at specific times of the day and/or night. At the time of this inspection, 36 people received support with their personal care needs from the agency.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting underpinning principles of "Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture".

Right support The model of care and setting maximised people's choice, control and independence. The supported living services had good access to the local community and amenities.

The supported living services were staffed by a manager and a dedicated staff team who knew people well. Staff supported people to make choices about their daily lives and engage in activities, that were tailored to their individual needs and promoted their independence. People were supported to maintain and develop relationships. One person said; "Fantastic support." While another told us about how they were supported on a holiday abroad recently.

People are 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.

Staff were recruited safely. The staff team had the appropriate levels of knowledge and skills to support people and responded to their individual needs and choices. New staff had an induction, training, supervisions, appraisals and staff meetings.

People received their medicines in a safe way and were protected from abuse and neglect. People's care plans and risk assessments were clear and up to date.

Right care: People received good quality person-centred care that promoted their dignity, privacy and human rights. People were involved in decisions about their care and support and staff empowered people to communicate what they wanted. Staff were observed talking to people in dignified and respectful way.

There was a strong person-centred culture within the staff team. Positive behaviour support plans had been developed for people. This helped staff understand the reasons for their behaviours and provided guidance to ensure consistent approaches were used when supporting them. Staff knew people well and demonstrated an understanding of their individual care, behavioural and communication needs. This helped ensure people's views were heard and their diverse needs met. One person said; "I've lived here five years and all the staff are brilliant to me."

Right culture: The ethos, values, and attitudes of management and care staff ensured people led confident, inclusive and empowered lives. Staff created an environment that inspired people to achieve their goals and ambitions.

People lived as they wished, and staff supported them to do the things they enjoyed.

People, a relative and staff told us management were approachable and they listened to them when they had any concerns or ideas. All feedback was used to make continuous improvements to the service. One staff member told us; "I haven't worked anywhere better."

Cleaning and infection control procedures had been updated in line with COVID-19 guidance to help protect people, visitors and staff from the risk of infection. Government guidance about COVID-19 testing for people, staff and visitors was being followed.

For more information, please read the detailed findings section of this report. If you are reading this as a separate summary, the full report can be found on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk