LDC Supported Living

On this page

• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

There was a strong focus on treating people as individuals. People were supported to try new experiences and learn skills to develop their independence. People were supported by kind and compassionate staff who treated them as equals with dignity and respect. Staff were matched well to the people they supported which put people at ease and helped them to engage in meaningful activity.

This service scored 70 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

People were supported by staff who were kind, compassionate and treated them with dignity. One person told us about a time when they had been unwell and named staff that had stayed with them. This appeared to be a significant experience and something they wanted to share about their care. Another person we spoke with said, “I like the staff.” Relatives described staff positively as; ‘friendly’, ‘trustworthy’ and ‘caring.’ One relative said, “LDC are lovely, the team are lovely…staff are lovely, and they do listen.”

Staff were clearly able to describe how they treated people with kindness, compassion, and dignity. Staff were knowledgeable about the people they supported. They knew people's likes and dislikes and how best to care for them. Staff provided support to people as equals and spoke positively about the people they supported. Staff described person-centred care that was kind, compassionate and focused on people’s strengths and not their disability or challenges. Staff were passionate about supporting people to live fulfilled lives and achieve their goals. A staff member said, “provide really good care and support…it is something I am really passionate about…I am proud we are really helping [them].”

There was a culture of kindness and respect. Feedback from partners who worked with LDC Supported Living illustrated how the management and staff team embodied kindness and compassion to support people in completely person-centred ways. This impacted positively on people and those important to them. One professional shared, ‘Person’s family have been very thankful for the support and have said that they really appreciate the contact from LDC and the photos. They were able to enjoy a holiday without worrying about their [loved one] for the first time in years and have commented that they can now see [loved one’s] personality returning.’ Another professional fed back, 'it was lovely to see how you all got to know [person] and all of [their] quirks and personality, to see the relationship developing between you and the jokes you would have with [them]. Doing things like buying [them] a gazebo and getting [pets] for [their] home showed us how much you care about what makes [person] happy…'

We saw that staff were patient and attentive in listening to people to ensure they communicated effectively. They checked with people using appropriate styles of interaction to ensure they had understood properly and responded appropriately. We saw that staff responded to people’s needs quickly, picked up on changes in body language and acted accordingly. Staff were able to describe people’s preferences and histories and involved them in these conversations. Staff engaged affectionately with people and brought an element of fun to interactions.

People's were supported in extremely individualised ways, their individuality including their protected characteristics were confidently explored and supported. People’s support was exceedingly personalised, holistic, strengths-based and reflected their physical, psychological, health and functional needs. People’s individual interests, goals and aspirations were built on at a pace completely set by the person and respected by staff. LDC Supported Living shared in and celebrated people's journeys and successes. The achievements were showcased in the service’s newsletter such as when people had tried a new activity or attended a daunting medical appointment. Relatives all said they would recommend the service. One relative commented, “I would absolutely [recommend]…It’s the best place [loved one] has ever been and I would not want [loved one] to move anywhere else. [Loved one] is happy there and very well cared for.”

Staff excelled at treating people as individuals. Staff gave examples of how they supported people that reflected person-centred care that was holistic. The individual taken helped people live quality lives and achieved things important to them. For example, staff shared how they had reduced a person’s seizures by being observant and realising a trigger that had been missed at a previous placement. They trialled avoiding this trigger and seizures decreased. They then arranged the persons home environment to further align with their needs. This was a great outcome for the person. Another example staff gave was how they had been patient and persistent in supporting a person to be more independent in a functional goal, working towards it for two years and progressed at a rate which suited the person. Staff knew the people they supported very well and provided tailored support for people based on their preferences and wishes. For example, staff supported people that were related. Staff explained how they were not alike and described distinct differences in their social preferences and how these were supported. Staff also explained how there were some things that both people liked such as maintaining relationships that were important to them and how these were supported together. Leaders were also passionate about treating people as individuals and knew people very well. They engaged in conversations and activities that mattered to people.

We observed staff supporting people to have choice and control over their lives. We saw staff supported people to communicate their needs, and staff checked they had the correct understanding to ensure people’s choices were respected. As part of our assessment, we visited people in their own homes and staff ensured people had control over who entered their home and what happened while we were there. A person declined for their support staff to speak with us, and staff supported this decision respectfully.

We saw staff positively interacted and engaged with people in a person-centred way. Staff focused on people’s personalities and strengths, such as what they enjoyed. Staff were effective in communication with people. We saw staff communicating with a person in the person’s own language style which was prescriptive. We saw staff use aids such as communication boards to support people with communication even further.

LDC Supported Living processes highlighted people as unique individuals. They had completely tailored people’s support plans and staff approaches to how they supported the people under their care including through bespoke inductions and training. For example, a person had been involved in creating an induction for their staff that helped staff to understand them as an individual. Other people had also been involved in delivering staff training. People had been supported to achieve excellent outcomes of improved health, increased engagement, and reduced isolation. All these achievements have been progressed at a pace that had worked for the individual, with different methods that connected with their individualism.

People benefitted from support staff who gave them as much choice and control over their lives as they were able to. People were supported to maintain relationships and do a range of activities in their community linked to their own interests and achieve their goals. One person happily told us they visited family and had begun a romantic relationship which initiated from LDC Supported Living’s ‘meet and mingle’ event. People had opportunities to try new activities that enhanced and enriched their lives for example through paid employment at the LDC Supported Living office. A relative said their loved one worked in the office, “that was good, [they] like doing things in the community.” People also contributed meaningfully to staff recruitment through being part of the staff interview panel. People’s views were valued and equal to paid care staff.

Staff encouraged people to be independent. One staff member said, “We just support [person] to make [their] life better independently.” For example, staff told us how they encouraged people to maintain their own homes. Staff proudly described people’s achievements and growth, they told us about a person who enjoyed going for short walks which was exceedingly significant as they had not been outside in years, and this reduced their social isolation. Staff told us how they aimed to gradually support the person to increase their skills inside and outside their home. Staff encouraged people to be involved in their care. They were enthusiastic in telling us about how they offered people they supported choice. One staff member said, “We [give choice] on a daily basis so for instance with [person]…promote [their] choice for example like going on the bus, choice if [they] would like to help with dinner, promoting those skills and daily tasks. Before, [person] had choice not to do [their] washing but if [person] does it’s promoted and celebrated.”

We observed staff supporting people to have choice and control over their lives. We saw staff supported people to communicate their needs, and staff checked they had the correct understanding to ensure people’s choices were respected. As part of our assessment, we visited people in their own homes and staff ensured people had control over who entered their home and what happened while we were there. A person declined for their support staff to speak with us, and staff supported this decision respectfully.

The systems and processes in place supported people to make choices and have control over their lives. Care plans set out what daily living skills people could do for themselves such as cooking and when they needed support. We saw evidence that people’s choices were recorded across a range of processes such as reviews with people about how their care and support was going and staff meeting minutes conveying people’s wishes.

We did not look at Responding to people’s immediate needs during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

We did not look at Workforce wellbeing and enablement during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.