Dickley 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

Caring – this means we looked for evidence that the provider involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.

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.

The provider always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

People told us staff were kind and friendly. We observed people staying at the respite service were comfortable around staff. Comments included, “I am happy” and “I like it here.”

We observed a number of positive interactions throughout the assessment. Staff had an open, friendly rapport with people and staff knew people very well. Care provided was person centred, people were treated with respect and were supported to spend their time how they chose. When people became anxious or upset staff responded promptly, such as offering distraction or a change of environment. A staff member said, “Even though it is respite, we treat it as if it’s their own home.”

Relatives were very positive about the staff and the way they treated their loved ones. They described staff as caring, accommodating and flexible. Staff respected people’s privacy, treated people with dignity and respect and always asked for consent to care. Comments included, “Staff are really good with him” and “He does get treated with compassion” and “They put names on door when he arrives. They always knock and they were knocking on the door to check he was ok as he had slept in.”

The provider treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. They took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

We observed staff respecting people’s choices and treating people as individuals. People’s cultural and religious needs were documented in care plans.

Staff told us they had supported people to go out into the community. The service had a variety of adapted vehicles which enabled people to go on outings. This meant if different people staying chose to do different activities this could be facilitated. A person told us they had been to cinema and had lunch out. The registered manager told us that they matched people when booking stays to people of a similar age group, people who were friends and people with similar interests.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

People utilised the service at Dickley Court to have some respite care which enabled them to have a break and give their relatives or full-time care givers a break. People were encouraged to engage with activities, gain skills and independence and grow their friendships with their peers. There was a varied choice of activities available for people. The activities were decided with people during their stay. Records showed people had been out to shops, cinema and bowling. A staff member told us they support people to carry out fun activities when they stayed. They said, “We have to consider how much money the person has brought with them for their stay.” We observed staff engaging people with activities, there was lots of laughter, chat and encouragement.

Staff told us how they supported people to make decisions and choices throughout the day. They detailed how they supported people to maintain their independence. The registered manager said, “I wanted to impress that staff are very supportive in encouraging people to be engaging in community, activities, food shopping and cooking. People learn skills.” The registered manager told us, “Our clients mean everything to us and are adored.”

A healthcare professional said, “They speak kindly and with respect to their clients, often having meaningful conversations and facilitating fun activities.” Relatives told us, “They take him to the cinema and in the summer, the beach and arcades. They go on walks”; “In the summer they went to Festability, Christmas time they went to Leeds castle lights, there was a Halloween party, they have been to restaurants for lunch” and “They take her swimming, trampolining, cinema; lots of various activities every time she goes.”

The provider listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff responded to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

We observed staff responding to people’s needs in a timely manner. Some people had additional staff allocated to them to keep them safe when they were staying at the service. A healthcare professional told us, “Dickley Court Respite provided a more holistic and responsive approach. They were particularly helpful during a period when we urgently needed to place a patient into full-time care due to deteriorating home circumstances. Dickley Court were able to accept the patient on a long-term basis while an appropriate permanent placement was identified, which was extremely valuable at the time.”

Relatives told us the service was not only responsive to their loved ones needs but was responsive to their needs too. A relative said, “It is a lifeline for our family and for him a place to go with other people of his age and similar needs. He is always very happy to go.”

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. The provider had systems and processes in place to promote and support staff wellbeing such as mental health support and wellbeing packages. However, staff were not aware of these. Staff told us they received good support from the registered manager. A staff member said, “I’m not aware of staff welfare or wellbeing packages. If I needed support I would go to [registered manager].” Another staff member told us, “Honestly, I don’t know, if we do it has not been advertised. I get support from [registered manager]. There is a refer a friend scheme I saw it when I was at head office, I don’t know what it is about. There is an employee of the month scheme, as a service we won it a little while ago.”

The nominated individual for the provider shared information to show that staff had been sent an email on world mental health day in 2025 to provide some information about keeping well. They told us, they had sent some staff from across their organisation on mental health first aid training. They said their aims for 2026, “Include sending further individuals on the level 2 training; increasing awareness across the organisation around mental health support available and putting in place the confidential counselling helpline for employees.”