Drakes Place

Updated 13 February 2025

Date of Assessment: 20 February to 11 March 2025. The service is a residential service providing support to up to 26 adults living with physical disabilities, people with a learning disability and autistic people. At the time of the assessment, 24 people were living at the service.

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. The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice, and independence. The service is larger than current best practice recommendations. However, the size of the service having any negative impact on people was lessened as the service was being delivered within 3 separate houses.

We undertook this assessment due to the age of the rating. At our last inspection the service was rated good, at this assessment the service has remained good.

The service had a learning culture. There were systems in place to review incidents and share any learning. People were protected and kept safe. Staff knew people well and understood any risks.

There were enough staff with the right skills, qualifications and experience. Managers made sure staff received training to maintain high-quality care.

The service supported people with their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care. People were involved in day to day decisions about their care.

There were systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of care. Leaders and staff had a shared vision and culture based on listening, learning and trust.

Updated 13 February 2025

People and relatives were happy with the care their loved ones received. One person told us, “I am happy, it’s my home, I have no problems with the staff.” Comments from relatives included, “[Name of relative] is so well looked after, and I know they are safe. They are happy. What more could I ask for”, and “I have never seen my [name of person] so happy, I could not ask for more.”

Throughout our visits we observed staff to be kind and caring. Staff supported people to be as independent as possible. Some people could not directly tell us about their experience. We used observation to assess their experiences of care. This approach showed people were included and listened to and staff consistently interacted positively with them.

People received care that was personalised to their needs. Staff promoted person centred care to make sure everyone received a level of care to meet their needs and respected their wishes and independence.

We received unanimously positive feedback from a range of visiting professionals. One professional told us, “We have found them to be a fantastic person-centred provision, who have changed the lives of individuals and opened them to new experiences that would not ordinarily be available.”

People received care from staff who knew them well and treated them as individuals. Staff supported people to take positive risks to enable their independence and empowered them to make choices using their preferred method of communication. People were supported by staff to take part in and enjoy activities and hobbies within the home and the local community. People received their medicines safely as prescribed for them.

Relatives felt involved and listened to and commented positively about the management of the home. One relative told us, “They have a can-do attitude and that feeds into the staff team. Nothing is too much trouble.”