D & H Community Support Ltd

Ratings

• Overall

  Good

• Safe

  Good

• Effective

  Good

• Caring

  Good

• Responsive

  Good

• Well-led

  Good

Our view of the service

About the service

The service is a domiciliary care service. There were 3 people using the service at the time of the assessment.

Who the service is for

This is a specialist service for people with a learning disability and autistic people. We have 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 carried out this assessment on 4 November 2026. This service was previously rated as good. We carried out this assessment to confirm whether the rating of good remains accurate. This report does not provide detailed information on areas where we found practice continues to meet a good standard. Instead, our findings focus on any areas where the service needs to improve or where we found exceptional practice.

There was a positive learning culture based on openness and honesty. Safety concerns and incidents were reported, investigated and reviewed. Any lessons were used to improve practice and embed safe care.

Staff understood their safeguarding responsibilities, including recognising and reporting concerns about abuse or neglect. The provider worked with people and healthcare partners to understand what being safe meant to people and shared concerns promptly and appropriately, helping protect their rights and safety.

People were involved in assessing and managing risks relating to their care, with support planned holistically to promote safety while respecting their choices. This helped people receive safe, supportive care that enabled them to do the things that mattered to them.

The provider recruited staff safely, completing relevant pre-employment checks, including carrying out Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks to help establish suitability to work with people. Staff received training and competency checks to support safe and effective care, alongside regular supervision and appraisals to review their practice and development needs. These arrangements helped ensure people received support from staff with the skills and knowledge to meet their individual needs.

Staff described access to formal training and ongoing learning through their daily work, with opportunities to raise additional development needs. One staff member told us, “We have lots of training, and we learn every day as we go along. Nothing is left uncovered, and managers always support us. They would arrange training opportunities if we needed them.” This feedback illustrated how training and day-to-day support helped staff develop the knowledge needed to meet people’s needs.

At the time of the assessment, no people were receiving support with medicines from the provider.

People’s health, care, wellbeing and communication needs were assessed and reviewed with them. This ensured care was planned around individual needs and remained relevant as those needs changed. The provider routinely monitored people’s care and outcomes and used this information to improve support. Person centred reviews considered whether care met people’s own expectations as well as clinical expectations, helping maintain positive and consistent outcomes.

People received kind and compassionate support from staff who knew them well and understood their individual needs and preferences. This understanding helped staff provide care in a considerate and personalised way, with empathy and respect for people’s privacy and dignity. The approach recognised the importance of how people experienced their care, not only the support they received, helping them feel valued and respected in everyday interactions.

The provider demonstrated an exceptional person-centred approach. Care plans were developed with people and their representatives and reflected individual needs, wishes and personal goals. One person was involved with their support staff in creating images for a visual risk assessment to guide safe transfers in line with their preferences. Regular person-centred reviews with people and their circles of support, alongside monthly reviews of care calls with people and relatives, ensured their priorities shaped both care planning and everyday support.

Staff described how meetings with families and keyworkers created opportunities to review care records and discuss changes to support. One staff member said, “We work with families through yearly meetings and keyworker meetings. We review the paperwork and update it if anything changes. We talk about the service, any changes, and anything they would like to be involved in.” This feedback supported the evidence that reviews were opportunities to discuss preferences and involvement, as well as keep care information up to date.

The provider made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas or raise complaints about their support. People were involved in care decisions and were told what had changed in response to their feedback, helping ensure their views informed how the service was delivered.

The service was well-led, with clear management oversight, defined responsibilities and systems of accountability to monitor quality, safety and people’s outcomes. Information about risks, performance and outcomes informed decisions and was shared securely when appropriate. These arrangements supported consistent, sustainable, good-quality care.

Staff described established opportunities to contact management and discuss matters relating to their work. Referring to contact with the registered manager, one staff member said, “We can phone or email, and we have a monthly meeting with the registered manager to discuss anything we need to.” This provided a regular forum for staff to raise questions and share information relevant to the delivery of care.

The provider focused on continuous learning, improvement and innovation. Feedback and learning informed improvements, and creative approaches to care supported personalised experiences and outcomes. This helped the service develop its practice and maintain safe, effective support.

People's experience of this service

People’s experience.

Relatives described reliable care arrangements and clear communication about who would provide support. This helped them know what to expect and kept them informed when arrangements changed. One relative told us, “They have never let us down at the last minute. We are told who is coming and if that changes they let us know”.

One person described feeling anxious when they first received support or when unfamiliar staff attended. They explained how staff helped them feel more settled, saying, “I was nervous, had the jitters when I first met my staff. Then they settled me.” This highlighted the importance of reassurance and familiarity in their experience of care.

Relatives valued continuity of support from a familiar team, with arrangements to cover sickness and holidays. One relative described how their family member knew the staff supporting them, “Staff are competent and consistent. [Person] knows them all by name. There are 4 in [Persons] team; all-girls. They also have reserve girls in case of sickness and holidays.”

Relatives described being involved in reviewing care and agreeing changes. One relative said, “We are all heavily involved in this. Any changes to be made they make them. We have yearly meetings regarding the care plan. Both [People] have an input.” This showed that the family had opportunities to contribute to care planning and felt their views were acted on.

A relative also valued the rapport between staff and their family member, including humour in everyday interactions. They described their experience positively, saying, “Staff are really good. Brilliant. I’d tell you if there was something wrong. I would know. Nothing has ever happened. It’s all really good. They have good banter with [Person].”

A relative felt listened to and knew who to contact if they needed to raise a concern. Although they had not needed to do so, they expressed confidence that the registered manager would respond, saying, “If I needed to raise a concern, which I haven’t, then I would speak to the registered manager. She is on the ball. She goes above and beyond. I feel listened too.”

Relatives expressed confidence in the service and felt people were treated well as individuals. One relative said, “I have no complaints or concerns. It’s very well run. Everyone is different. They are treated really well”.