During an assessment under our new approach
Date of assessment: 17 September to 16 October 2026. Asher House provides support to autistic people and those with a learning disability and a range of associated mental health needs. The service has been designed to support people with ongoing complex needs who are stepping down from hospital or to avoid an inappropriate admission to hospital. The maximum number of people who can live at the service is 6. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting 5 people living in their own single self-contained apartments within Asher House. This was the first assessment of the service since it was registered with CQC in May 2022. This was because the service was dormant from February 2023 to January 2025. When a provider is registered but nobody is using either the location or a regulated activity, we refer to it as a dormant service.
We have assessed the service against the ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ (RS, RC, RC) 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 had been designed in line with RS, RC, RC guidance. It is a small service situated within the local community, made up of individual apartments to allow people to live in their own home, as well as having access to a range of communal facilities within the building to avoid isolation.
Right Culture - The provider had systems in place to assess, monitor and improve the quality of the service to support the safe delivery of care. However, systems to check safety and maintenance of the premises, including fire safety and legionella required further strengthening. Records and risk assessments were not consistently held at the service, making it difficult to demonstrate that identified actions had been completed. The registered manager responded proactively confirming all health and safety records were being transferred to a digital platform to improve accessibility, oversight and ongoing monitoring. The provider valued their workforce demonstrating an exceptional commitment to staff wellbeing, inclusion and professional development resulting in a stable and motivated workforce. Staff felt valued, respected and well supported, which contributed to a positive culture and consistently good outcomes for people.
Right care – People received the right care because their views and opinions had been captured, respected, listened to and implemented as part of their day-to-day support. People had been involved in decisions about their care, including how risks to their safety were managed. This enabled staff to support and empower people to take positive risks, respecting their choices while helping them engage safely in activities that mattered to them. The service employed enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff to meet people's needs. Staffing levels and staff competencies matched the needs of people using the service, including the provision of 1-to-1 and 2-to-1 staff support which helped ensure they received consistent, safe and good-quality care.
Right support - People received care and support from staff that knew them well and understood how to meet their needs safely and supportively. Staff demonstrated a good understanding of people's individual needs and how to support them to achieve positive outcomes and maintain a good quality of life. Staff demonstrated a caring and compassionate approach, taking time to understand what people were experiencing and communicating during periods of anxiety or distress. Positive behaviour support (PBS) plans, developed in conjunction with the PBS team, provided staff with clear guidance to ensure people received consistent and effective support to reduce distress while protecting their rights, dignity and wellbeing. External healthcare professionals were complimentary about how the service worked with them and supported people.