• Residential substance misuse service

Archived: Clarity House

Overall: Inadequate read more about inspection ratings

15 Larch Croft, Birmingham, West Midlands, B37 7UR (0121) 796 1000

Provided and run by:
Changes UK Community Interest Company

Latest inspection summary

On this page

Background to this inspection

Updated 23 September 2019

Clarity House is run by Changes UK, an addiction recovery services provider.

Clarity House provides social assisted detox, with support from their partnering organisation. Some people are physically and mentally ready to undergo a detox at home but may not have the support at home.

Clarity House works in partnership with a community addiction service which included a local NHS trust which provided nursing support between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Clarity House admits clients without any physical or mental health complications, who are likely to be more successful with their detoxification from opiates or alcohol in a residential setting rather than the community. All clients had to be referred by the partnering addiction recovery service.

Clarity House provides alternative therapies, including meditation, mindfulness, sleep hygiene and reiki. It also offers a weekly aftercare group for ex-clients. Clients normally stay with the service for six weeks. Clients attend community groups and attend other therapeutic sessions by the service’s partner.

Clarity House are registered with the CQC for ‘Accommodation for persons who require treatment for substance misuse’. They have a registered manager and have been registered since May 2017, this is their first CQC inspection.

Overall inspection

Inadequate

Updated 23 September 2019

We rated Clarity House as inadequate because:

  • The service was not well led, and the governance processes did not ensure that procedures ran smoothly. Staff did not have access to a full range of policy and guidance. Staff did not engage in audits to evaluate the quality of care they provided.
  • The service did not provide safe care. The service did not have enough adequately trained or experienced staff. Staff did not assess and manage client’s risk or follow good practice with respect to safeguarding. The service did not control infection risk. The premises were not safe or well maintained.
  • Managers did not ensure that staff received training, supervision and appraisal.
  • The service did not support clients’ privacy and dignity, the female bathroom, was the thoroughfare between the two sides of the building, and there was no female only lounge. Clients on occasions had to share single gender bedrooms.
  • The service did not store medicines safely. Staff had not had training to administer emergency medicines held on the premises.

However:

  • Staff treated clients with compassion and kindness and understood the individual needs of clients. They actively involved clients in decisions around their therapeutic care and provided a range of therapies suitable to their needs.
  • Staff worked effectively with the community and found groups to meet the individual needs of their clients.