By Rachel Furniss, Best Practice Facilitator
As a Best Practice Facilitator at MacIntyre, I get to travel around the country meeting people across MacIntyre, and see some really powerful examples of person-centred support in action.
I met Sandra and her story is one that stays with me, as it shows how the smallest, simplest, most thoughtful details can completely change how someone feels about their support and their home.
Sandra doesn’t use words to communicate, but she makes sure she is heard and understood by the team in her own way. When you spend time with her, her preferences quickly become clear, especially about her home and what feels right for her.
Listening beyond words (and getting it right together)
It’s brilliant to see how Sandra’s team really understand her communication. It’s all in her gestures, her expressions, her reactions, those small but powerful signs that tell you exactly how she’s feeling, when you slow down and take the time to tune in.
The team supporting Sandra have become really skilled at noticing and responding to these cues. They don’t just support her day to day, they advocate for her, making sure her preferences are understood and acted on.
Sandra makes her own decisions and choices. Through her reactions and choices, she shows us what she likes, what she doesn’t, and what feels right. It’s very much a shared conversation.
Co-production in real life
We talk a lot about co-production at MacIntyre, and Sandra’s home is a great example of it actually happening in practice.
Sandra is right at the centre of decisions about her home, from colours and furnishings to how her space feels and functions. Staff haven’t made decisions for her; they’ve worked alongside her, making sure she leads the way wherever possible.
It’s not about big formal meetings or complicated processes. It’s just people working together properly, listening carefully, and making sure Sandra has a voice that shapes her environment.
The shoes-off rule (and what it really means)
One of my favourite parts of Sandra’s story is something very simple.
Sandra is incredibly proud of her new carpets and her home. It matters to her. So the team have made sure that anyone coming into her home takes their shoes off at the door and if they have slippers, to put them on.
When I visited Sandra, she made it clear I needed to take my shoes off, (and then told me my feet smelled – her personality truly coming out in the first few minutes of meeting her) this may seem like a small thing, but actually it says everything. It’s about respect. It’s about recognising this is not a service a place where support happens, its Sandra’s home, and she gets to set her own boundaries and standard for it.
Making a house a home
What stood out the most is how much her home now reflects her. It feels calm, comfortable, and completely hers. Every choice has come from paying attention to what she shows us she likes and responding to that with care; it’s not about perfection or big gestures, it’s about creating a space that feels right for the person who lives there in this case Sandra.
Why this matters
For me, Sandra’s story is a really good reminder of what great support looks like. It’s not about doing more, it’s about doing things differently. Slowing down, listening properly, and working with someone rather than around them; and when we get that right, home becomes more than a place to live. It becomes something personal, something meaningful, and something that truly belongs to the person.
And in Sandra’s case, it really does.
