Durlston House

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 75 (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.

We observed people being treated with respect by staff who knew people’s needs. People appeared comfortable with staff and enjoyed their company. Staff communicated well with people making sure information was understood. People’s privacy was upheld by staff who respected people’s personal space and kept sensitive information confidential. Relatives told us staff were kind, respectful and patient. Comments from relatives included, “Yes, all staff treat [person] with dignity and respect and seem to really love working with him.”

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.

Relatives told us staff treated people as individuals and met their specific needs. Staff demonstrated a good knowledge of people they supported and described the individual approach they took to meeting people’s needs. Details of people’s individual needs were reflected in their support plans, including specific ways in which people communicated and how they preferred support to be provided.

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

People were able to take part in activities to help maintain independence. This included domestic activities such as cooking and cleaning and supporting people to use public transport. One person was having a new bed built during our visit. They were involved throughout the process of putting their bed together, engaging with the maintenance person who was building it and ensuring it was right for the person. We observed people being encouraged to do what they could for themselves during the inspection, including encouragement for people to use their computer and to decide where to go out.

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.

Relatives said staff responded to people’s needs and made changes to their support plans where necessary. We observed staff responding promptly to people when they requested support. The management team regularly checked care records and completed observations to make sure support was provided in a timely way. Records demonstrated staff responded promptly to people, for example to support people during periods of anxiety which caused them distress.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff, and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. Staff told us they received the support they needed to do their job well.

Staff told us managers were open and they were able to share any concerns they had. Staff were confident managers would act on any concerns they raised. Comments from staff included, “There is support available, with posters in the home and on the App to show us where we can get help if we need it. I feel [the provider] and the local management team do value us and treat us well.” The provider had an external support service staff could access if needed, including counselling and advice. The management team supported staff with adjustments to their working pattern, for example due to caring commitments or health conditions.