Derby House

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

People were involved in planning and making shared decisions about their care and treatment, so it was centred around them and their needs. Staff empowered people to give their views and understand their rights, including their rights to equality and their human rights. Care plans and risk assessments were individual for each person and included their support in relation to a range of daily living skills and support areas in relation to their health and communication. Staff were aware of the importance of asking for consent before supporting people and respecting their wishes.

This service scored 79 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

People’s individual needs, preferences, and future wishes and expectations were central to the delivery of care and support, which was evidenced in the positive outcomes that people experienced. This was demonstrated by the improvements in people's overall health and wellbeing. People were supported to understand and learn about their health and were involved in decisions about their care. One person told us, "I feel safe here. I trust the staff with my life.” They told us how they had improved their relationship with their family, improved their health with reduced admissions to the hospital, quit smoking, and started to support other people in a community recovery programme. 

Staff said people were absolutely at the heart of the service. The management team's primary focus was to develop people's skills and confidence and provide them with the tools needed to live more independently. This was evidenced in the many examples where people's lives had significantly improved. For instance, people who had previously presented with high levels of anxiety were happy, calm, and enjoyed activities they had never experienced before. People had developed new friendships with both staff and the people they lived with. People's dietary intake and health had improved, and people had fulfilling and meaningful lives. Staff fully understood the importance of promoting equality and diversity. One staff member said,"We have learnt how best to support [person] by standing by them and accepting, not judging."

Staff fully understood the principles of person-centred care and how to apply this in practice. Staff were committed to developing a caring and trusting environment and treating people with compassion, dignity, and respect. Staff spoke confidently about how best to support people and knew what was important to people. The registered manager and staff team put care plans in place, and these were very detailed and person centred. They gave a thorough overview of people's support needs and how best to support them in any given circumstance.

People and their families told us that they were supported by the services to manage their personal health needs. They had care that was coordinated and staff from Derby House worked well with other partners, for example, health and social care professionals.

Staff and managers told us how they worked well with other services such as mental health, local authority social workers, GP’s and hospitals to ensure that people’s health and care needs were joined up and met people's needs.

Partners told us that the service worked with other service to promote good health care.

Systems and processes were in place to ensure information was accurately recorded and shared with staff. The provider used an electronic care planning systems which alerted staff to changes and enabled the provider to have up to date access to daily records which they could audit where necessary to give themselves assurances that people were receiving continuity of care.

People had access to accurate and up to date Information was given to people when they first started using the service, so they were aware of their rights and choices. However, the management team said there were some documents they wanted to change the format of to make them more user friendly.

Staff told us how they built up a rapport with people and got to know their communication styles. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities to provide people with information in their preferred communication styles, to ensure people could make their own choices.

The service was reviewing how they provided information in order to make it more accessible to people living at the service.

People had access to information about how to make a complaint and felt confident raising any concerns. One person told us “I can speak to any of the staff if I have a problem. The good things is that I know staff will act on what I say.”

Staff and leaders told us that they listened to people and ensured they were involved in their care and treatment. They took all feedback, complaints and compliments seriously and ensured all concerns were investigated.

The service had a thorough process for dealing with complaints. All complaints were delt with by the registered manager who apologised and investigated complaints ensuring to respond to the complaint.

People said they were in control of planning their care and support and if they needed help or support, they could go to the staff.

Staff were passionate about improving people’s lives while protecting their right to live in safety, free from bullying, harassment, abuse, discrimination, avoidable harm and neglect.

Partners said people had access to care, treatment and support when they need to and in a way that works for them.

The service had effective systems and processes in place to ensure that all at the service were able to access the care support and treatment they needed when they needed. They had built relationships with other health care providers such as GP’s and district nurse services to improve the access for people at the service.

People told us the staff actively sought out and listened to information about their experiences and what their aspirations were for the care package. Staff advocated for people and their rights and respected equality and diversity.

Staff were passionate about ensuring people’s rights were protected and there was an inclusive and supportive atmosphere in the home, no matter what health or care related need people may have. Staff ensured people who could not advocate for themselves had good experience of care.

Policies and procedures were in place in relation to equity, equality and diversity. Feedback and observations supported the fact that staff had implemented learning and a culture had been created of individualised care. People’s care records showed how staff ensured people’s human rights and protected characteristics were included and protected. Care plans included information around people’s identity, things important to them, their wishes and relationships they wanted to maintain

No one was receiving end of life care, but found staff always discussed whether the care and support delivered needed to remain the same. The service provided re-ablement and rehabilitation and people were supported to become more independent, whatever the level of need and move to more independent living if appropriate.

One staff member said it can be a difficult conversation to have with people and that staff needed to build trust and find the right time to have the conversation. Another staff member said, "All people are asked for their end of life wishes when they are admitted to the service."

Records showed the relevant people would be involved in decisions about a person's future care life choices, if they could not make the decision for themselves, should they reach that point in their life.