STARS (Southend Treatment and Recovery Service)

This was our first inspection of this service. We rated it as good because:

• 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 developed holistic, recovery-oriented care plans informed by a comprehensive assessment. 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 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 planning.
• The service was easy to access. Staff planned and managed discharge well and had alternative pathways for people whose needs it could not meet.
• The service was well led, and the governance processes ensured that its procedures ran smoothly.

However:

• The service had out of date stock located in the needle exchange room. We found 12 boxes of out-of-date needles. However, these were stored in a locked cupboard and were disposed of during inspection.
• The service did not have a formal process for recording clients contact preferences if they disengaged from treatment. However, they had informal conversations with clients about how they would like to be contacted should they unexpectedly exit treatment before their treatment was completed.