Acorn Close

“Who the service is for”

“This service supports people living with mental health needs and who may also have additional learning disabilities and/or a diagnosis of autism. 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.”

“Key findings”

“We carried out this assessment from 16 June to 18 June 2026. This service was previously rated as good. We carried out this assessment to confirm whether the rating of good remains accurate. This report does not provide detailed information on areas where we found practice continues to meet a good standard. Instead, our findings focus on any areas where the service needs to improve or where we found exceptional practice.”

“People can only be deprived of their liberty to receive care and treatment with appropriate legal authority. In care homes, this can be done through a procedure called the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), which is part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). We checked whether the service was working within the principles of the MCA and how they managed DoLS within the service. We found that staff and management worked within the MCA. DoLS authorisations were appropriately applied for and overseen. People were not subject to unlawful or excessive restrictions they had choice, control and freedom over their lives.”

“Medicines were managed safely. People told us they received their medicines on time and records supported this. The medicines room was clean, tidy and well organised. Staff knew what action to take if medicine stock was running low or if a medicine error occurred. Protocols were in place for medicines prescribed to be taken ‘as required’, and the registered manager monitored their effectiveness. We identified one issue relating to lansoprazole and metformin which required review because of the prescribing instructions indicating the medicines needed to be given in a specific way, and the registered manager agreed to address this. The registered manager understood Stopping Over Medication of People with a Learning Disability and Autistic People (STOMP). Medicines were reviewed regularly, and the registered manager had actively worked to reduce the number of occasions people required their prescribed psychotropic medicines by making environmental improvements, increasing communication across the service, and supporting people to access more activities.”

“People’s health needs were monitored and escalated appropriately. Records showed staff contacted GPs and other health professionals when needed. Staff knew people well and could identify changes in their health and wellbeing. Staff understood when monitoring forms would be required such as fluid balance charts and charts to monitor a person’s distressed behaviour. One person told us, “Staff support me with [health needs]. They can identify the signs of [infection] in me before I do sometimes – they are really good.””

“People were supported by safely recruited staff. Recruitment records included Disclosure and Barring Service checks, references, completed application forms, and checks relating to employment gaps and changes of name where applicable.”

“Staff received training and support to carry out their roles effectively. Staff spoke positively about the quality and availability of training. One staff member told us, “If I ever said to the registered manager I was struggling with something, they would say to me ‘I will get you training on that’.” Staff were assessed for their competency following certain training courses to…”