We looked at the care records of eight people; spoke with two people who use the service and three staff members. We found that people were involved in the planning of their care and treatment. One person told us "staff are very good here; they don't just help me with my drug problems they have really helped sort out my life".
We found the service had a 'service user forum' so people could discuss how the service can be improved. This meant that people were able to speak openly and freely about the service but it was also a way for people to come together as a group and support one another.
We looked at the care records of people and found that, on referral, they had relevant care and treatment assessments and these were updated and reviewed on a regular basis. We looked at records that showed where additional health care needs had been identified; people were referred and supported to access other agencies. Staff working in the service had a good knowledge of the people they supported and were well trained. They were able to tell us in detail people's support needs and treatment programmes.
The service was able to identify where people were at risk of abuse and made relevant referrals when this occurred. We found the systems that were in place did not only effectively protect people using the service from abuse but also protected people who were not involved in the service but may have been at risk of abuse due to people's drug addictions.