Archived: Swanswell Worcester

Updated 22 January 2019

Swanswell became part of the Cranstoun group in December 2016. It is a national charity and has been supporting people who misuse substances since 1970. It became the provider of services in Worcester in April 2015, as part of the county-wide service in Worcestershire. Swanswell Worcester is in the city centre and offers a service to people in Worcester.

The service offers: health promotion, needle exchange, testing for blood borne viruses, vaccinations for hepatitis B, prescribing substitute medication for opiate dependence, community home detoxification, GP shared care, action planning, care co-ordination and key working, group work, referral and assessment for residential rehabilitation and detoxification, supporting alcohol and substance users involved in the criminal justice system, harm reduction and abstinence-based treatment, debt and housing advice, and health engagement and life skills.

The service is funded by local commissioners and provides a free service to those who use it. There is a registered manager for the county service who had oversight over the three area locations: Worcester, Redditch and Kidderminster. Each location, including Worcester, is led by a team leader. Swanswell Worcester offer a service 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday and open until 7pm on a Tuesday. The service offered home visits based on individual need and had a shared care agreement with GP surgeries in the City of Worcester. Some county-wide specialist roles were delivered in a range of settings by family workers, a blood borne virus nurse, an alcohol nurse, young people’s workers, a peer mentor and volunteer co-ordinator, non-medical prescribers and criminal justice workers. The team also incorporated a pilot known as the blue light project which worked in partnership with other agencies to provide interventions to those people with alcohol problems. This report looks at the running of services in Worcester.

The service provides diagnostic and screening procedures and treatment of disease, disorder or injury as regulated activities.

The service was last inspected in May 2017, but was not rated. Care Quality Commission started to rate substance misuse services in Summer 2018.

Updated 22 January 2019

We rated Swanswell Worcester as good because:

• The service kept people safe from avoidable harm by ensuring there were sufficient staff with the right training, supervision, knowledge and skills. Risk assessments were completed and care was planned around the client’s individual needs. Staff had good awareness of safeguarding issues, they followed the service’s lone working policy, incidents were reported, and lessons learnt were cascaded to staff.
• Staff used best practice and national guidance to complete comprehensive assessments, which enabled the development of personalised and holistic recovery plans detailing the appropriate treatment and care.
• Staff worked well together and with external partners to ensure clients received effective and consistent care and treatment, and monitored outcomes regularly.
• Clients told us staff treated them respectfully and with dignity, and they were involved in their own care. They felt they were listened to and both clients and carers were provided with relevant information and support to manage their recovery. The service invited feedback which was shared at a local and national level.
• The service responded to clients quickly and managed their caseload effectively to ensure they could provide care when the client required it. The service was meeting its targets and dealt with complaints effectively.
• The service supported clients to access work, education and mutual aid to enhance their recovery and was accessible to those people protected under the disability and discrimination legislations.
• There were good governance arrangements in place. Experienced managers and staff monitored the quality of the service using audits, client feedback, reviewing incidents and complaints, and key performance indicators. Low morale amongst some staff was being addressed by the service.
• The service encouraged innovation and had implemented quality improvements across the service to enhance the service they provided to their clients. The service had implemented good ideas suggested by clients.

However:

• However, we could not always ascertain whether clients had received their own copy of their recovery plan.
• Some interview rooms were not soundproofed to maintain confidentiality and privacy.

Updated 22 January 2019