Brookdell House

Ratings - Substance misuse services

• Overall

  Good

• Safe

  Good

• Effective

  Good

• Caring

  Good

• Responsive

  Good

• Well-led

  Good

Our view of the service

Date of assessment: 31 July 2025.

Brookdell House provides accommodation for people requiring treatment for substance abuse through a residential 12-week psycho-social program. This assessment looked at the Brookdell House site and the care and treatment it delivered to clients, which we rated as good. Our last assessment of this service was in 2019.

The service provided a safe and clean environment that supported recovery. As part of their recovery programme, clients engaged in the daily running of the service and took responsibility for shopping, cooking and cleaning. They were involved in decisions on the running of the service and their own care and treatment.

Staff levels and skill mix were planned, staff numbers changed to reflect the number of clients using the service. There were daily staff meetings looking at effective risk management, to ensure staff could manage risks to clients.

Staff treated clients with compassion and kindness, and they understood the clients’ individual needs. They actively involved clients and their families and carers in care decisions. Clients were supported to take responsibility for their own recovery and staff supported them in a non-judgemental way to achieve this.

Clients’ needs were fully assessed, and they had recovery orientated care plans that were personalised and holistic. They were supported to maintain abstinence and they were safeguarded against abuse and discrimination.

There was an effective recovery programme that met clients’ needs. There was a strong multi-disciplinary focus, with clients encouraged to develop links to the recovery community for support post discharge. Clients who had been discharged had an opportunity to enter a day care service operated by the provider at another location. The programme continually prepared clients for discharge and living back in the community.

The service was well led, and the governance processes ensured that procedures relating to the work of the service ran smoothly. Incidents were recorded and investigated. There was evidence that learning from incidents took place and this was shared with staff to improve the service.

People's experience of this service

We spoke with 15 clients during the inspection. All clients felt that the environment was safe and clean. They spoke highly of the service and felt that the programme was helping them in their recovery. They felt involved in their treatment and able to raise concerns. Many of the clients credited the care they received as life saving

We spoke with one former client who told us the service had changed their lives, and they were in full recovery.