Fleming House

Updated 20 January 2022

Fleming House offers a 10 day to 12 week residential abstinence based treatment programme for alcohol and drug addiction. The service can accommodate up to 29 clients. On the day of the inspection, there were 20 clients in treatment. Fleming House offers individually tailored detoxification programmes, group and individual therapy sessions, underpinned by the 12 step model but drawing on other approaches according to clients’ choice.

The service provides medically monitored detoxification, which is where 24-hour care and monitoring is provided by trained support workers and a doctor supervises, evaluates, and prescribes when necessary.

Fleming House accepts clients funded by the NHS and local authorities, as well as those self-funding for admissions. Fleming House is registered for the accommodation of people who require treatment for substance misuse. Fleming House had a registered manager in post at the time of this inspection.

We last inspected this service in November 2018, and published the report in January 2019. We undertook this inspection as part of a random selection of services rated Good and Outstanding to test the reliability of our new monitoring approach.

What people who use the service say

Clients spoke extremely highly of the service. The four clients we interviewed described the staff as amazing, and the service as lifesaving. Clients described the environment as comfortable and said they felt very safe to talk about their past trauma. Clients said they had clear plans for when they left the service, which included moving on to further treatment delivered by the same provider. Some clients wanted more opportunities for physical exercise on the programme.

Updated 20 January 2022

Fleming House offers a 10 day to 12 week residential abstinence based treatment programme for alcohol and drug addiction. It offers detoxification, individual and group therapy, underpinned by the 12 step model.

Our rating of this location stayed the same. We rated it as good because:

The service provided safe care. The premises where clients were seen were safe and clean. The service had enough staff, and low staff turnover. Staff assessed and managed risk well and followed good practice with respect to safeguarding.

Staff carried out regular observations of clients undergoing medical detox. They developed holistic, recovery-oriented care plans informed by a comprehensive assessment. They provided treatment suitable to the needs of the clients and in line with national guidance about best practice with attention to their physical health as well as their mental health. This included groups such as yoga and a programme that included relapse prevention, goal setting and living skills.

Staff engaged in clinical audit to evaluate the quality of care they provided.

Managers ensured that staff received training, supervision and appraisal. Staff worked well together as a team, and with relevant services outside the organisation, including mutual aid groups.

Staff treated clients with compassion and kindness, and understood the individual needs of clients. They actively involved clients in decisions and care planning.

Staff planned and managed clients discharge well and had alternative pathways for people whose needs it could not meet. This included robust safety plans for clients choosing to leave treatment early, and the option of transferring to a different service where appropriate.

Staff told us that the provider promoted equality and diversity in its day-to-day work and in providing opportunities for career progression.

The service was well led. Leaders had the skills, knowledge and experience to perform their roles, had a good understanding of the services they managed, and were visible in the service and approachable for clients and staff. The governance processes ensured that its procedures ran smoothly.

However:

The service should improve maintenance checks to ensure that issues are noted and addressed in a timely manner

Updated 10 January 2019

Updated 20 January 2022

Our rating of this location stayed the same. We rated it as good because:

• The service provided safe care. The premises where clients were seen were safe and clean. The service had enough staff, and low staff turnover. Staff assessed and managed risk well and followed good practice with respect to safeguarding.
• Staff carried out regular observations of clients undergoing medical detox. They developed holistic, recovery-oriented care plans informed by a comprehensive assessment. They provided treatment suitable to the needs of the clients and in line with national guidance about best practice with attention to their physical health as well as their mental health. This included groups such as yoga and a programme that included relapse prevention, goal setting and living skills.
• Staff engaged in clinical audit to evaluate the quality of care they provided.
• Managers ensured that staff received training, supervision and appraisal. Staff worked well together as a team, and with relevant services outside the organisation, including mutual aid groups.
• Staff treated clients with compassion and kindness, and understood the individual needs of clients. They actively involved clients in decisions and care planning.
• Staff planned and managed clients discharge well and had alternative pathways for people whose needs it could not meet. This included robust safety plans for clients choosing to leave treatment early, and the option of transferring to a different service where appropriate.
• Staff told us that the provider promoted equality and diversity in its day-to-day work and in providing opportunities for career progression.
• The service was well led. Leaders had the skills, knowledge and experience to perform their roles, had a good understanding of the services they managed, and were visible in the service and approachable for clients and staff. The governance processes ensured that its procedures ran smoothly.

However:

• The service should improve maintenance checks to ensure that issues are noted and addressed in a timely manner