The Duke’s House, our residential service in New Brighton, Merseyside, receives fresh new CQC rating!

The Duke’s House, a Lifeways residential service in New Brighton, Merseyside, has received a new rating from England's health and social regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The residential service, which is situated on the picturesque Wirral peninsula, is home to up to eight adults with support needs, including autism and learning disabilities.

After three CQC inspections in April and May, the Duke's House was rated "Good" in August by the regulator. This means that the CQC inspectors found the service to be:

• Safe
• Effective
• Caring
• Responsive
• And well-led

What the CQC report says about the Duke’s House:

• “People were leading full, busy and active lives, within their communities. They had been supported to expand their interests and hobbies, have new experiences, and enjoy relationships with people that were important to them.”
• “There was a positive and empowering culture at the home, that had promoted people having positive outcomes. Staff had positive, natural and everyday interactions with people that were kind, enabling and very respectful.”
• “People were now involved in decisions regarding the design of the service.”
• “Staff were positive about the people living at the home. It was clearly important to staff that people did well and it was obvious that staff gained satisfaction from supporting people and they expressed joy when describing to us how people were doing well.”

‘My life has changed for the better’

The team at the Duke’s House make sure to keep everyone, including family members, updated about the running of the service.

The mother of a person we support at the Duke’s House told Lifeways: “My life has changed for the better since you came along. We are all so grateful to you for looking after our precious children so well.”

Commenting on the CQC’s report, Kelly Harris, Lifeways’ Registered Manager, said: “We are really proud of our achievements as a team, with our work to transform the Duke’s House into a great, supportive, and inspiring place to be!”

In the image at the top of this article, the support team at the Duke’s House pose for a picture.

The Duke’s House had previously been inspected by the CQC in 2021.

All health services in England are provided one of four ratings by the CQC: Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement, or Inadequate.

The full report is available for reading on the CQC website.

Watch our video about the Duke’s House!

Earlier this year, we produced a video tour of the Duke’s House, featuring the support team, people we support, and a look at the interior of the service. Watch the full video: