Archived: Ciconia Recovery London

This was our first comprehensive inspection of Ciconia Recovery London. The service registered with the CQC in April 2020. The service is a community-based alcohol, drug and accompanying mental health service.

We rated this service as good because:

• The service provided safe care for clients. Staff used a recognised risk assessment tool which included areas of potential risks to clients such as overdose or suicide. Staff safely carried out physical health checks on clients going through assisted withdrawal from alcohol. Medical staff followed best practice guidance when prescribing medicines for clients.
• Staff developed care plans to support clients going through a community detoxification. Clients receiving treatment for attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) had a comprehensive assessment completed by the doctor. Staff provided appropriate care and treatment interventions suitable for clients’ recovery. Staff worked hard to reduce the physical and mental health problems related to substance misuse.
• The team had access to the full range of specialists to support clients with their substance misuse and mental health. This included a doctor and a medical director who specialised in addictions and dual diagnosis. Staff worked well together as a multidisciplinary team and relevant services outside the organisation. Staff actively engaged with GPs and other healthcare organisations to provide holistic care to the clients.
• Managers ensured that staff received training, supervision, and appraisal to ensure they were competent working in substance misuse and dual diagnosis.
• Staff demonstrated a compassionate understanding of the impact clients’ care and treatment could have on their emotional and social wellbeing. Clients were positive about the care they received from staff.
• The service was easy to access and clients self-referred. The service had a clear admission criteria of which clients they could accept for treatment. The service only accepted clients whose needs they assessed they could safely meet. Staff planned and managed discharge well and had alternative pathways for people whose needs it could not meet.
• The service aimed to support people in harder to reach communities through participating in community events and online conferences. For example, the doctor recently gave a talk on gender and neurodiversity at the local arts centre celebrating international women’s day.
• The service was well led, and the leadership team had the skills and experience to aid clients in their recovery. Staff identified risks and planned for them by completing a service risk register. Risks included medicines management, infection control and COVID-19. The governance processes ensured that its services ran smoothly. This included audits and systems to monitor the effectiveness of the service and improve client care.

However:

• Whilst risk was appropriately assessed and managed, improvements were needed in how staff recorded individual client risks and how they were managed in their care and treatment records.
• Staff understood how to protect clients and children from abuse. However, improvements were needed to ensure the service established appropriate networks with other stakeholders, for example, their host local authority, to work in partnership to ensure that vulnerable adults and children were protected from abuse.