We are With You - Rotherham

Updated 29 April 2022

CGL Rotherham is part of a national charity called Change, Grow, Live, (CGL). It is community-based organisation offering treatment and support to people with drug and alcohol problems. It operates from Carnson House, in Rotherham town centre. The service provides medication assisted treatment, advice and information, group work, psychosocial interventions and blood borne virus testing and immunisation. A large proportion of the service is delivered in conjunction with local GP’s through a shared care arrangement. Staff can facilitate access to needle exchange provision through a network of local pharmacies.

This service was registered by CQC on 1 May 2019 to provide one regulated activity: Treatment of Disease, Disorder and Injury. When we inspected, there was no registered manager, but a new manager had been appointed and had been in post since early January 2022. This person was in the process of applying to become the new registered manager.

This is the first time we have inspected the service since it was registered.

What people who use the service say

We spoke with fourteen clients in total. Without exception they told us staff were compassionate, caring and went out of their way to provide person centred care and support. Some clients praised individual staff and one or two told us the help they received had save their lives. Clients felt safe using the service and thought they had really good access to mental and physical health services through pathways the service had with other primary and secondary healthcare services. Many of them missed the recovery activities that were on offer pre-pandemic, but they told us they had good access to telephone and virtual support throughout the restrictions. Two clients we spoke with that had been in treatment a long time thought the treatment on offer was not as relevant to them as it was to newer people.

Updated 29 April 2022

• Staff did not always develop holistic, recovery-oriented care plans and they could not evidence that clients had been offered copies of their care plans.
• Some staff did not know how to handle complaints and recovery activities were not promoted effectively with clients receiving treatment through their GP.
• Some governance processes were not well embedded. Local governance meetings were not taking place and there was no guidance for staff about what they should discuss in team meetings. The provider did not have suitable guidance for staff on how to develop recovery orientated care plans.
• Some clients had to wait outside the building to be seen because of the provider’s infection control policies there was sometimes a smell of drains in the building which could be off-putting.

However:

• The service provided safe care. The premises where clients were seen were safe and clean. The number of clients on the caseload of the teams, and of individual members of staff, was not too high to prevent staff from giving each client the time they needed. Staff assessed and managed risk well and followed good practice with respect to safeguarding.
• Staff carried out comprehensive assessments and appropriate physical health monitoring. They provided a range of treatments suitable to the needs of the clients and in line with national guidance about best practice. Staff engaged in clinical audit to evaluate the quality of care they provided.
• The teams included or had access to the full range of specialists required to meet the needs of clients under their care. Managers ensured that these staff received basic training, supervision and appraisal. Staff worked well together as a multidisciplinary team and with relevant services outside the organisation.
• Staff treated clients with compassion and kindness, and understood the individual needs of clients. They actively involved clients in decisions and care was person-centred.
• The service was accessible and met the needs of clients, including those with a protected characteristic or with additional support needs.

Updated 29 April 2022