Camden Community Drug Treatment Service

Ratings

• Overall

  Good

• Safe

  Good

• Effective

  Good

• Caring

  Good

• Responsive

  Good

• Well-led

  Good

Our view of the service

CGL Camden is part of the larger Change Grow Live provider who deliver a not-for-profit drug and alcohol treatment service nationally. The service provides specialist community treatment and support for adults and young people affected by substance misuse who live in Camden.

CGL Camden offer a range of services including initial advice; assessment and harm reduction services including needle exchange; prescribed medicines for alcohol and opiate detoxification and stabilisation, naloxone dispensing; group recovery programmes, one-to-one key working sessions and doctor and nurse clinics which include health checks, blood borne virus and hepatitis C testing.

The service works in partnership across Camden with other agencies, including NHS services, social services, probation services, GPs and pharmacies.

The Camden service is open from Monday to Friday and has a late opening of 9:30am – 8pm every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

There was an interim registered manager at the service at the time of the inspection.

The service is registered by the CQC on 01/07/2024 to provide the following regulated activity:

• Treatment of disease, disorder or injury.

This was a routine inspection.

We spoke with 19 members of staff, 6 patients and 6 carers. We also reviewed the care and treatment records of 11 patients.

CGL Camden is one treatment system operating from two sites across the borough and also delivers services from community satellite sites. It provides community-based alcohol and drug treatment detoxification for residents of the borough.

The team that inspected the service comprised 2 CQC inspectors, 1 CQC medicines inspector, 1 specialist advisor and 1 expert by experience.

The is the first time we have rated the service, and we have rated the service as Good.

We found the following areas of good practice:

• 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 followed good practice with respect to safeguarding.
• Staff provided a range of care and treatment interventions suitable for the client group and consistent with national guidance about best practice. They ensured that clients had good access to physical healthcare and supported clients to live healthier lives. The service user outcomes in relation to clients successfully completing treatment was above the national benchmark for all three pathways (alcohol, non-opiate and opiate).
• Staff treated clients with compassion and kindness and understood the individual needs of clients. Clients were involved in the service in several ways. They could contribute feedback, attend service user forum meetings and make suggestions for service improvement. Staff welcomed their families and offered support to them, when appropriate.
• 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. Leaders had the skills, knowledge and experience to perform their roles. Staff said they felt supported and valued and had good access to a wide range of training.

People's experience of this service

We spoke with 6 clients and 6 carers during this inspection.

Clients and carers gave extremely positive feedback about the service. They described the environment as clean, safe and welcoming. They told us that staff were kind, caring, accepting, non-judgemental, and generous with their time.

Clients gave overwhelmingly positive feedback about the service they received. They described staff as caring, respectful, approachable and non-judgemental. Clients reported feeling safe, listened to and fully involved in decisions about their care and treatment. Many praised the person-centred and holistic approach, highlighting effective treatment programmes, regular reviews of care, clear explanations regarding medication and side effects, and flexible appointments including telephone and online support. Clients told us that the service provided a wide range of recovery-focused interventions, including counselling, peer support groups, acupuncture, yoga, meditation and employment support, which was highly valued. Clients also praised the clean and welcoming environment, the availability of out-of-hours support, and the proactive communication from staff, particularly regular check-ins from key-workers.

Carers feedback was similarly very positive. Carers described the service as supportive, compassionate and highly responsive to both their own needs and those of their loved ones. Carers particularly valued the counselling and therapy support available, describing therapists as excellent listeners who provided guidance in a collaborative and person-centred way. Carers told us that the service offered flexible appointment options, including telephone and online sessions, were viewed positively and helped carers manage support alongside work and other responsibilities. Carers also praised the service for effective medication management, clear communication, practical support, and good signposting to external services. Many felt included in care planning and decision making and appreciated the non-judgemental and approachable nature of staff.