The Calico Group - St John’s Court

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

Leaders had the skills, knowledge and experience to perform their roles, had a good understanding of the services they managed, and were visible in the service and approachable for clients and staff.

Staff knew and understood the provider’s vision and values and how they were applied to the work of their team. The visions and values of the service were displayed around the service.

Governance processes operated effectively. There was a clear framework of what must be discussed at team meetings to ensure that essential information, was shared.

The service had policies to guide staff in the day-to-day operation of the service. Staff collected and analysed data about outcomes and performance. They used this to identify improvements in response to our previous assessment.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Staff knew and understood the provider’s vision and values and how they were applied to the work of their team. The visions and values of the service were displayed around the service. Staff we spoke to could tell us the visions and values and explain how they were followed to ensure all staff were working together. The providers objective was “With passion and excellence, make a difference to people’s lives by providing innovative and specialist addiction services that lead the way form dependence to freedom”.

Staff had the opportunity to contribute to discussions about the strategy for their service.

Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They said the service promoted equality and diversity in daily work and provided opportunities for development and career progression.

They could raise any concerns without fear. All staff we spoke with said they felt supported and valued at the service, with both management and staff saying they felt the staff team were happy.

Staff told us the role could be stressful, but that they were managed and supported by colleagues and senior staff. There were no reports of bullying or harassment at the service, and all staff we spoke with knew how to use the whistleblowing process. All staff told us that they felt they could raise concerns to management about the service without fear of retribution.

At the last assessment in August 2023 senior leaders had just been appointed following a change in provider. These leaders had now been in post for 23 months following that assessment. Staff who had remained through this transition spoke highly of the leadership team. They were visible in the service and approachable for clients and staff.

Staff felt there was a positive culture at the service. No staff member we spoke to complained they had been the subject of discrimination or bullying.

We saw evidence that there were regular team meetings for staff to discuss any issues. All the staff we spoke with, told us that they were confident they could speak up if they had any concerns about the way they or the clients were treated.

All staff we spoke to knew how to use the whistleblowing process. All staff told us that they felt they could raise concerns to management about the service without fear of retribution.

Managers explained how staff would be supported within the workplace and that staff were able to apply to work flexibly, for example flexible working agreements to account for personal circumstances such as caring responsibilities and health issues.

Managers advised that reasonable adjustments could be put in place for staff members to help them carry out their role, based on their individual needs. We saw a room set aside for staff to use as a prayer room.

Staff received training in equality, diversity and inclusion as part of the service’s mandatory training.

At the last inspection we found that governance processes were not fully in place and staff records were incomplete. On this assessment policies were in date and provided comprehensive guidance for staff. There was a clear framework of what must be discussed at team meetings to ensure that essential information was shared and discussed. The service had policies to guide staff in the day-to-day operation of the service.

There was a standard agenda to ensure consistency and items included lessons learnt, governance, staffing and safeguarding. Meetings served a clear purpose and were well managed. There were a range of meetings in place to support the running of the service. We examined five employees’ files and found they all contained references, relevant professional registrations, CVs and a work history.

Managers made necessary changes and ensured learning was disseminated. Governance and performance processes were effective and strong. They identified and addressed issues and were used to make improvements. This was reflected in business meeting minutes. For example, the service had been unable to record blood borne virus testing electronically so as an interim measure had created a manual recording system.

The service had an up-to-date risk register. Risks included financial concerns and failure to reach commissioners targets which the service monitors to assure appropriate control and mitigation to prevent the risk from materialising.

The service had plans for emergency situations. Business continuity plans were in place which included actions for staff to take in the event of adverse weather conditions, pandemics, loss of computer systems or premises.

Managers described how the service was engaging with external stakeholders and partners. Managers recognised the importance of these relationships and ensuring that they were being kept informed and involved. The criminal justice team engaged with prison services, probation and custody staff. There were hospital liaison staff.

Staff invited family members and external professionals to meetings where appropriate so they could discuss any issues and receive any updates about the client's care and treatment. Clients also interviewed new staff when vacancies occurred.

Leaders told us that performance was monitored by completion of regular audits and the outcomes were recorded on key performance indicator dashboards. This meant leaders could monitor performance over a period to ensure continuous improvement.

Leaders we spoke with demonstrated a passion for learning and continuous improvement. The provider encouraged creativity and innovation to ensure up to date evidence-based practice was implemented and embedded.

Leaders took part in death reviews, and the service was joining the Drug and Alcohol Related Deaths surveillance overview program. This would mean the service would join other community substance misuse services and examine each other’s deaths to learn lessons from each other.

Staff had implemented recommendations from reviews of deaths, incidents, complaints and safeguarding alerts at the service level. An alcohol worker had been placed in a GP practice, and this was being expanded to other surgeries.

A Detox pod had been created as a drop-in session for clients who wished to discuss rehabilitation services.

A lead alcohol nurse was in place and had developed strong relations with local residential substance misuse services.

Safeguarding learning circles allowed staff to develop their knowledge of safeguarding and discuss individual cases.

Staff had made a video for social media about the use of Naloxone as a training tool for clients.