Blythson Limited - 5 Ashley Avenue

Blythson Limited - 5 Ashley Avenue is a small residential care home in Folkestone that currently supports three people with learning disabilities who require assistance with personal care. Located in a quiet neighborhood close to local shops and the sea, the home is designed to blend into the residential area without external signs identifying it as a care home. The overall atmosphere focuses on promoting independence, choice, and meaningful daily lives for everyone living there.

Residents are protected from avoidable harm through thorough individual risk assessments covering the environment, health, and social needs. Staff understand these risks well, utilizing discreet tools like bed monitors for nighttime safety and managing behaviors proactively, which has led to a reduction in challenging incidents. Medicines are managed safely with accurate records and regular audits, although a past near-miss involving a stock discrepancy prompted an improved two-staff counting system.

Care is tailored to individual needs through detailed initial assessments and smooth transition periods. Healthcare needs are exceptionally well managed, with staff working closely with GPs, therapists, and specialists, supported by communication passports during hospital visits and up-to-date staff training in oral hygiene and specific conditions.

Residents are treated with deep compassion, kindness, and respect, and they maintain strong, positive relationships with the staff who know them well. Privacy is fully respected, and staff ensure individuals are involved as active partners in their daily routines and personal choices.

Support is highly flexible and centered around personal routines, hobbies, and activities that residents genuinely enjoy, including documented end-of-life preferences. Visual aids and pictures are used effectively to help individuals express daily choices when they cannot do so verbally.

The home benefits from stable leadership, regular quality checks, and robust recruitment practices that ensure sufficient numbers of well-trained staff are always available. Management maintains an open culture where the views of residents, relatives, and staff are actively listened to and used to drive continuous improvement.