The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • Independent doctor

Freedom from Torture Also known as Freedom from Torture

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

111 Isledon Road, Finsbury Park, London, N7 7JW (020) 7697 7777

Provided and run by:
Freedom from Torture

All Inspections

During an assessment of Community-based mental health services for adults of working age

The date of assessment: 3 June 2026

Freedom from Torture is a charitable organisation that provides a range of services aimed at rehabilitating survivors of torture from around the world who are now living in the United Kingdom. The service operates from Monday to Friday and from 9am to 5pm.

Freedom from Torture is registered to provide the regulated activity of treatment of disease, disorder or injury. The service had a Nominated Individual but did not have a formally Registered Manager at the time of inspection.

We inspected the regulated activity that was delivered by four volunteer doctors and two care co-ordinators. The doctors provide medical consultations to adults, children and young people who are survivors of torture. Following a medical consultation, the doctor sends a recommended treatment plan to the patient’s registered GP. The service does not prescribe medication or conduct medical treatment. The doctors usually complete a one-off medical consultation. However, therapy staff can re-refer patients to the service doctor as needed. Care co-ordinators offered patient’s support with their care and treatment plan.

Freedom from Torture offers other services to people that do not fall within the scope of the registered regulated activity. This includes the therapy service (clinical/ counselling psychologists, psychotherapists; family therapists; music therapist, art and horticultural therapy volunteers) as well as a pain management service, a legal and welfare advice service and the in-house medico-legal service in which healthcare professionals support clients with legal documentation.

Freedom from Torture was last inspected by CQC in June 2017. At that inspection the service was rated good in the key questions effective, caring, responsive and well-led. Safe was rated requires improvement. We required the provider to make improvements to risk management and notifiable incidents.

At this assessment we found improvements in all these areas. We rated the service as good. The service is no longer in breach of regulations. Staff now risk assessed all patients that had a mental health condition and included information in the risk management plans for patients on what to do in the event of a crisis. Arrangements were now in place to monitor patient’s change in risk when they were waiting to be seen at intake panel or initial assessment. The waiting lists were reviewed at the weekly team meeting. The service now had arrangements in place to ensure that notifiable incidents were reported to the CQC.

Staff developed holistic, recovery-oriented care plans informed by a comprehensive assessment. They provided a range of treatments suitable to the needs of the patients and in line with national guidance about best practice. Staff engaged in clinical audit to evaluate the quality of care they provided.

The multidisciplinary team included or had access to a range of specialists required to meet the needs of patients. Managers ensured that these staff received training, supervision and appraisal. The staff worked well together as a multidisciplinary team and with those outside the service.

Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, and understood the individual needs of patients.

Governance processes operated effectively, and performance and risk were managed well.

During an assessment of the hospital overall

The date of assessment: 3 June 2026

Freedom from Torture is a charitable organisation that provides a range of services aimed at rehabilitating survivors of torture from around the world who are now living in the United Kingdom. The service operates from Monday to Friday and from 9am to 5pm.

Freedom from Torture is registered to provide the regulated activity of treatment of disease, disorder or injury. The service had a Nominated Individual but did not have a formally Registered Manager at the time of inspection.

We inspected the regulated activity that was delivered by four volunteer doctors and two care co-ordinators. The doctors provide medical consultations to adults, children and young people who are survivors of torture. Following a medical consultation, the doctor sends a recommended treatment plan to the patient’s registered GP. The service does not prescribe medication or conduct medical treatment. The doctors usually complete a one-off medical consultation. However, therapy staff can re-refer patients to the service doctor as needed. Care co-ordinators offered patient’s support with their care and treatment plan.

Freedom from Torture offers other services to people that do not fall within the scope of the registered regulated activity. This includes the therapy service (clinical/ counselling psychologists, psychotherapists; family therapists; music therapist, art and horticultural therapy volunteers) as well as a pain management service, a legal and welfare advice service and the in-house medico-legal service in which healthcare professionals support clients with legal documentation.

Freedom from Torture was last inspected by CQC in June 2017. At that inspection the service was rated good in the key questions effective, caring, responsive and well-led. Safe was rated requires improvement. We required the provider to make improvements to risk management and notifiable incidents.

At this assessment we found improvements in all these areas. We rated the service as good. The service is no longer in breach of regulations. Staff now risk assessed all patients that had a mental health condition and included information in the risk management plans for patients on what to do in the event of a crisis. Arrangements were now in place to monitor patient’s change in risk when they were waiting to be seen at intake panel or initial assessment. The waiting lists were reviewed at the weekly team meeting. The service now had arrangements in place to ensure that notifiable incidents were reported to the CQC.

Staff developed holistic, recovery-oriented care plans informed by a comprehensive assessment. They provided a range of treatments suitable to the needs of the patients and in line with national guidance about best practice. Staff engaged in clinical audit to evaluate the quality of care they provided.

The multidisciplinary team included or had access to a range of specialists required to meet the needs of patients. Managers ensured that these staff received training, supervision and appraisal. The staff worked well together as a multidisciplinary team and with those outside the service.

Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, and understood the individual needs of patients.

Governance processes operated effectively, and performance and risk were managed well.

6, 7 & 13 June 2017

During a routine inspection

We rated The Medical Foundation London as good because:

  • Medical assessment rooms were equipped with the necessary equipment to carry out basic physical examinations. All areas were visibly clean and furnishings well maintained. There were good fire safety systems in place. Patients were seen promptly when referred to the doctor. Staff were familiar with the provider’s incident reporting procedures and were debriefed following incidents.

  • Staff completed comprehensive assessments in a timely manner. Care and treatment records were personalised, holistic and recovery orientated. This included good assessment of patient’s physical health needs. The service offered patients a wide range of psychological therapies recommended by The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE ) and support for employment, housing and benefits. There were good working relationships between the doctors and therapists. Doctors supported patients to make decisions and sought patient consent before conducting medical consultations.

  • Staff treated patients with kindness, dignity and respect. Patients were invited to give feedback on the service they received.

  • The service reviewed patients promptly at different stages of the referral pathway. Medical consultation rooms were sound-proofed and well-maintained. The service offered patients a variety of support and activity groups. The service had very good access to interpreters. Key patient information was provided in 13 different languages. Patients knew how to complain and information on how to complaint was available to them. The service handled complaints appropriately.

  • Staff enjoyed working at the service and were committed to providing good quality care and support to survivors of torture. The provider’s governance arrangements included checks that ensured doctors were appropriately qualified and competent. The service had a risk register in place and senior management reviewed it regularly. The service demonstrated its commitment to quality improvement and innovation.

However:

  • The service did not have adequate systems in place to safely assess and manage risk to patients and staff. Where patients had mental health issues, staff had not completed comprehensive risk assessments and these were not updated following recent incidents. Risk management plans did not include information, developed with patients, on what to do in a crisis. There were inadequate systems in place to monitor patient’s change in risk when they were waiting to be seen at intake panel or initial assessment.

  • The service had not always notified the Care Quality Commission (CQC) of notifiable incidents.

  • Not all staff had completed the appropriate mandatory training. The service did not have systems in place to monitor staff supervision and mandatory training rates.

  • The service had not kept up to date cleaning records for the building and examination equipment. The service had not completed an environmental risk assessment for the outdoor communal space, including the garden.

2 November 2012

During a routine inspection

We spoke with staff and reviewed a range of records maintained by the provider. There were no people using the service who we could to speak to on the day of our visit. We found that before people received any care or treatment they were asked for their consent and the provider acted in accordance with their wishes. We also found that people's needs were assessed and care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with their individual care plan.

Appropriate checks were undertaken before staff began work. People who use the service were protected from the risk of abuse because the provider had taken reasonable steps to identify the possibility of abuse and prevent abuse from happening.

The provider had an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people receive.