- Residential substance misuse service
The Recovery Lodge
Assessment report published 25 August 2026
Contents
Ratings - Residential substance misuse services
Our view of the service
The Recovery Lodge is a 6-bedded residential medically monitored detoxification and rehabilitation service based in Kent. The service offers treatment for drug and alcohol addictions as well as maladaptive behaviours such as gambling addiction. The Recovery Lodge provides ongoing abstinence-based treatment, with a focus on the 12-step programme. The service accepts self-referrals and referrals from professionals for both males and females, over the age of 18 years.
The Recovery Lodge was registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on the 14 January 2016 to provide accommodation for persons who require treatment for substance misuse. At the time of the assessment, the service had a registered manager and nominated individual.
An assessment of The Recovery Lodge took place between 30 September 2025 and 17 October 2025. As part of the assessment, we visited the service on 30 September 2025. We undertook this assessment due to an aged rating. We last inspected the service in July 2018 and rated them as good overall. We identified breaches of Regulation 12 - Safe care and treatment.
Following this assessment the rating of the service changed to requires improvement. We identified breaches of Regulation 12 - Safe care and treatment and Regulation 17 - Good governance. Staff did not consistently manage medicines at the service well. Staff did not record and monitor temperatures in areas where medicines were stored. Staff did not prescribe controlled drugs for named people, and they did not record clear dosage instructions for controlled drugs that could be administered at variable doses. Not all staff members responsible for administering medicines had been assessed as competent to do so. Staff did not ensure that risk assessments and management plans were sufficiently robust. Systems and processes to monitor the quality and safety of the service were not consistently effective. Shortfalls identified during the inspection, such as care plans being generic, had not been identified via the provider’s own quality assurance processes. We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.
People's experience of this service
We spoke with 6 people who were using the service about their experiences at The Recovery Lodge. People told us they felt safe and well-supported.
People spoke positively about the therapists. They told us they were given space to ‘open up’. People said staff made an effort to get to know them as individuals and that everyone was treated equally.
People told us they felt involved in their care and treatment. People felt the treatment rules were very clear. People told us the treatment programme was led by them and supported by staff, and that peer support was good. They said they were treated with dignity and respect.
People told us they would feel confident in raising any concerns with the registered manager and were confident that action would be taken.
People felt the discharge planning was good and that staff supported them well with this. They told us this included support in attending fellowship meetings and linking with their local community groups.
People told us the environment was homely and there was plenty of space, including when the weather was bad and they may not wish to utilise outside space. People told us their dietary requirements were considered and there were snacks available when they wanted them.