- Community substance misuse service
Thurrock Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Recovery Service
Assessment report published 21 May 2026
Contents
Ratings - Community-based substance misuse services
Our view of the service
We inspected Thurrock Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Recovery Service on 11 February 2026.
Thurrock Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Recovery Service, run by the Forward Trust, provides community-based support for substance misuse. The Forward Trust operates over 70 projects, helping more than 20,000 people each year through community services and prison programmes. It offers advice, treatment, and recovery support, including abstinence-based programmes in community, residential, prison, and online settings. The service also helps individuals build employability skills through training, job support, and business guidance.
Thurrock Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Recovery Service provides support to adult residents in Thurrock, impacted by drugs and alcohol. The service offers brief therapeutic interventions, on a one to one basis or in structured groups alongside clinical support with ambulatory detox (an outpatient detox from drugs and alcohol providing assessment, prescriptions, and monitoring) for people. The service also prescribes opiate substitute medication and offers outreach support at satellite hubs, prison in-reach, a needle exchange, Hepatitis B vaccinations and naloxone training. The service were recruiting in to complex outreach worker roles. Services are aimed at recovery and rehabilitation and include assessment, information, advice, treatment, and referral for residents of Thurrock.
This is the first inspection of this service which was registered with CQC on 2 April 2024 to deliver the regulated activities: Treatment of disease, disorder or injury. We inspected all key questions and quality statements and rated the service as good.
People's experience of this service
We spoke with 3 people using the service and 1 family member, and reviewed additional people’s feedback which was consistently very positive. Individuals reported being treated with kindness, respect, and without judgement, and stated they felt safe in the care of staff. Staff were frequently described as empathetic, with lived experience valued by people. Group sessions were highlighted as a key component of recovery. Overall, feedback reflected a supportive, flexible environment delivered by a compassionate and committed workforce.
People using the service reported that staff were discreet, responsive, and respectful, providing appropriate emotional support, advice, and practical help. They confirmed involvement in care planning, a clear understanding of their treatment, and regular reviews. Staff were described as kind, honest, and professional, with multiple compliments received between February and October 2025 recognising individual contributions.
Family members of current and former people using the service were supported to attend dedicated groups, with positive feedback received regarding both the groups and staff support.
People also attended well-established monthly forums, where they were encouraged to share their views and experiences. Feedback from these forums was positive, and suggestions for service development were considered, with actions monitored and progress recorded.