Enter and View Report: Minshull House

In April 2025 we visited Minshull House, a short stay respite service which offers autism-specific short breaks care. The facility has capacity for 5 residents at any one time for planned respite short break stays.

Some residents may need 2:1 support, so this is accounted for in admissions planning, ensuring the house doesn’t feel overcrowded for residents. Staff advised that the environment tends to feel more homely for residents when it is less crowded. During busier periods there can be a total of 16 people, made up of staff and residents, in the home at a time. 

Staff advised us that all residents are under a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) during their stay.

Summary

During our 2-hour Enter and View we observed that Minshull House appears to be a well-run care home providing short respite breaks. The environment was clean and well maintained and staff interactions with residents seemed personalised, positive and caring. Staff seemed confident in their knowledge of regulations and their duty of care but also spoke lovingly of the people they support.

The 2 residents we spoke too seemed comfortable and happy in the environment and appeared to be winding down from a full day of rewarding activities. One of the residents was sharing in-jokes with the staff and seemed to have built a real rapport with them.

Minshull House provides a specialist service in providing these short-term respite breaks for people with autism and seems to be a real asset for families. Staff discussed how short breaks allow families that support those with autism to receive their own medical care, go on holidays or simply take a breather knowing that their loved one is receiving the specialist care they need.

Recommendations 

Following our visit we make the following recommendations for Minshull House:

• At this time, we have no recommendations to make for Minshull House and are pleased that during our short visit the service seems to be running well. 

Positives and good practice

We found during our visit to Minshull House examples of positives and good practice which included but were not limited to: 

• Minshull House seems to have created a good working relationship with both health partners and families. Having these strong relationships means residents access health care as needed.
• Having families on the governors' board and residents involved in supporting training opportunities shows a commitment to a collaborative working relationship with service users. It also should enable staff to get feedback from the people that use the service.
• The activities on offer at Minshull House seem varied but also personalised for residents. There appeared to be lots of opportunities for residents to enjoy themselves with external activities, or if they prefer to have more low-key activities staying inside of the home. The excellent garden space with Croxteth Hall backing onto the home adds even more opportunities for time outdoors.