Enter & View visit to Aspire Respite Service
Enter & View visit to Aspire Respite Service
Author: Tatum Yip and Katie Joenn
Published: 7 April 2026
Aspire provides both emergency and planned respite care for people with learning disabilities, and refers to those who use their services as customers. These services provide short-term residential care, giving family members and carers a temporary break, while ensuring customers receive appropriate support.
Between 15 July and 12 August 2025, we visited Scott Hall Emergency and Planned Care and the planned respite services at Raynel, Farfield, and Crossheath.
During the visits, we spoke to customers and staff about safety, care, food, activities and involvement of these services.
We also shared a paper survey with relatives and an online survey with staff who were not working on the day of the visit.
We received 73 feedback responses across these services.
Highlights
Services were mostly clean, welcoming and well signposted with accessible pictoral information.
Most customers, relatives and staff felt the services were safe, and staff were trained in safeguarding. However, some concerns were raised about medication management, supervision, staffing levels and training.
Customers appeared well cared for and spoke positively about staff, activities and growing independence. Staff generally felt confident in meeting customers' needs, though agency staff were sometimes unfamiliar with individuals.
Most customers and relatives felt involved in decisions about their care and care plan reviews, and felt comfortable raising concerns.
Overreliance on agency staff, staff shortages and high turnover affected the consistency of care. Some staff felt undervalued, which they felt limited their ability to provide the best possible support.
Click on the button below to read the report.
Please get in touch if you require the report in a different format. Either call 0113 898 0035, email info@healthwatchleeds.co.uk or text 07717 309 843.
Action plan from Aspire
As part of the Enter and View process, we asked Aspire to respond to the recommendations in our report. The action plan is produced by the Manager of Aspire.
Key actions
Aspire reviewed their Agency induction process to incorporate more detail for staff to discuss.
Agency staff have access to local management and also the on-call office if they were to encounter any situations where they may require advice when on shift.
There is currently work underway to ensure that the correct funding from Leeds City Council is in place for all the respite units and that it reflects the staffing levels.
They have rolled out a new medication policy to have better oversight over customer medication.