Archived: Turning Point - Hoole Road

We do not currently rate independent standalone substance misuse services.

We found the following areas of good practice:

• The service provided a programme of therapeutic groups, one-to-one sessions and counselling. Clients participated in the daily running of the service, which included cooking and cleaning. Clients were provided with information about the service as part of the assessment process, and they signed their agreement with this. This included abstinence from drugs and alcohol and compulsory attendance of groups. All clients had a detailed assessment and a recovery plan developed from this. All clients were registered with the local GP. All clients had a risk assessment completed on admission, and the recovery plans took account of these.
• There were enough staff to provide care and support for clients. There had been changes in management and an increase in staffing levels during the 4-6 weeks before the inspection. Clients and staff were positive about the change in the service. Staff were on site up to 6pm each day. After this time there was a member of staff on call. Clients knew how to contact the on-call staff by phone, and the member of staff would attend the service if necessary.
• Staff received supervision and training, and there were lone working procedures.
• Clients were involved in their care and the day-to-day running of the service. Clients were involved in the development of their recovery plans. Clients had a weekly meeting where they identified issues or problems, and then invited the manager into the meeting to discuss these. Clients were positive about the support they received from the service, and told us they felt able to approach staff if they had concerns.
• The building was generally clean and well maintained. Clients were responsible for the cleaning as part of the therapeutic community, and this was overseen by staff. Clients had access to the kitchen at all times. There was outdoor space.
• Medication was stored and administered correctly.
• The provider monitored the quality of the service. There was a monthly meeting of Turning Point’s substance misuse services in the North West, which reviewed and acted upon information from individual services and fed into the wider Turning Point group. The meeting included reviewing incidents, complaints, staffing levels and training. Staff knew how to report and escalate incidents.

However, we also found the following issues that the service provider needs to improve:

• The window restrictors were not fit for purpose, which created a risk of falling.
• There was no schedule for cleaning high or inaccessible areas of the building.
• There were no areas of the building or bathrooms that were designated specifically for men or women.
• Not all staff had had an appraisal.
• Information was not available for clients in accessible formats.