Tollemache Road Respite Service

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“Who the service is for”

“This is a specialist respite service for autistic people and people with a learning disability.”

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“Key findings”

“We carried out this assessment on 7 September, 9 September and 15 September 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.”

“We assessed the provider 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.”

“Staff were recruited safely and staff had the skills and knowledge to support people effectively. This included training to support autistic people and people with a learning disability.”

“Medicines were administered safely. Risks were assessed before people started to use the service and people were involved in the process. These risks were reviewed before each stay to ensure any changes in care needs were known, and staff understood how to support people effectively, and safely. This included any changes in specialist advice or guidance. A family member told us, “They check [Name’s] needs on a regular basis and adapt what we need. They are fantastic with [Name], [Name] is happy and loves going.” Another family member confirmed, “When I book [Name] in, they ask if anything new I need to make them aware of, they ask me, it’s risk assessed when you register them in.””

“When people needed specialist support with their care or to take their medicines, for example because of a specific health condition, staff received specialist training and, where appropriate, observations of practice were completed.”

“There were effective systems in place to safeguard people from abuse. When incidents or accidents happened, other agencies where informed when appropriate and systems were in place to look at how lessons could be learnt to avoid a reoccurrence. Family members felt confident in how any incidents were managed. One told us, “If anything happened, [Name] would tell us. If I didn’t feel confident in that sense or if I felt a risk, I’d not leave [Name] there.””

“The environment and equipment were clean, safe and well maintained. Regular fire drills were conducted to ensure staff and people who were staying at the service knew what to do in the event of an emergency.”

“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. Nobody was being deprived of their liberty. People were not subject to unlawful or excessive restrictions, they had choice, control and freedom over their lives. People confirmed staff knocked on their bedroom doors before entering. One family member explained staff have used picture cards with their loved one to gain consent and to support effective decision making.”

“Care plans highlighted people’s preferences in care. Staff demonstrated a very strong…”