Royal Mencap Society - Drummond Court Also known as Drummond Court

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

People were supported to regularly see their family and friends. People had access to activities and the local community to promote and support their independence, health and wellbeing.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

We did not look at Kindness, compassion and dignity during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

We did not look at Treating people as individuals during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

People were supported to have choice and control and to make decisions about how their care was provided. Important events such as family occasions, family visiting, friendships and relationships were recognised and supported. One person told us, “Mondays I go shopping, Tuesday, go to Clacton, I like Clacton, like the beach. I like living here and going shopping, it gives me independence. I go to the cinema club on Friday, [another evening club] on Thursday evening and see my family 3 or 4 times a week.” Another person told us how they had been working voluntarily in a charity shop for 9 years, how they independently walk to and visit their mother twice a week and would like to eventually live with their girlfriend. People took part in activities that supported their independence and wellbeing and staff provided active personalised support that enabled people to participate, where they were able, in day to day living activities such as shopping, cleaning, laundry and cooking. However, there was no evidence to show how activity planning was mapped to individual’s aspirations and desired longer-term goals. Relatives gave mixed feedback about communication from the service and being kept up to date about their family members wellbeing. Some said it was good and others felt further improvement could be made to keeping them informed about events. One relative told us, “They were very apologetic when I found out [person] was in hospital once and they hadn’t told me.” Another said, “They phone me if he’s been unwell or to the doctor – although there have been a few times where they haven’t told me, the staff don’t always communicate with each other and then I miss things.” Another said, “Communication isn’t great”. Others told us they were kept fully informed and felt very involved.

Staff understood people had a right to have choice and control and make decisions about how their care was provided. They told us about how important it was to promote people’s independence. One staff member said, “Yes absolutely [people are treated as individuals], that falls into why I like it here. It’s not regimented, it’s tailored to their own choices, any kind of promotion of independence that can be given is. Its ever changing for example [Person] moved in last year – we had in depth handover documents, but we’ve noticed he can possibly do more for himself. With reviews and risk management he can do more like making breakfast, he seems happier being able to do more for himself. I think this should be promoted. Drummond is one of the places that focus on individual needs and is unique for everyone.” Staff had a good knowledge of people’s individual abilities, needs and preferences, which helped to ensure they supported people in a manner which they wished. They described the likes and dislikes of people and knew how to communicate with them.

Staff involved people and helped choose how they spent their day, where they wanted to go out to and what they wanted to eat. People were coming and going throughout the day.

People’s care and support plans guided staff on how to promote their independence, choice and control. However, they lacked essential detail about people’s strengths and aspirations and the type and level of support they needed to further develop their skills, reach their goals, and live fulfilled lives. People were supported to express their views, preferences, and choices through various forums such as house meetings, key worker meetings and support plan reviews.

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.