Via - New Beginnings - Brent

Ratings

• Overall

  Good

• Safe

  Good

• Effective

  Good

• Caring

  Good

• Responsive

  Good

• Well-led

  Good

Our view of the service

Via Brent New Beginnings is one treatment system operating from two sites, Cobbold Road and the Willesden Centre for Health. It provides community-based alcohol and drug treatment and access to inpatient detoxification and rehabilitation for residents of the borough.

The team that inspected the service comprised three CQC inspectors, one CQC medicines inspector, one specialist advisor and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or supporting someone using substance misuse services.

The service was previously rated good overall. Following this inspection, the rating has stayed the same. We inspected all quality statements across all key questions. We have combined the scores for these to achieve the overall rating. We rated the service as good overall.

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 each person’s caseload was not too high to prevent staff from giving each client the time they needed. Staff assessed and managed care and risk well.
• Staff worked well with their NHS partner to ensure clients had access to a full range of specialists required to meet their physical and mental health needs. Staff worked with clients to develop holistic, recovery-oriented care plans informed by a comprehensive assessment.
• Managers ensured staff received training relevant to their role, as well as supervision and appraisals.
• Staff treated clients with kindness and compassion and understood their individual needs. They involved clients in decisions and care planning.
• The service was easy to access. Staff planned and managed discharge well.
• The service encouraged innovation and ran quality improvement projects.
• The service actively sought to understand their local community and engage with groups that had barriers to accessing the service and has several initiatives in place to encourage access and engagement.

People's experience of this service

We spoke with 10 clients and 4 carers. 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 said they were offered regular appointments which were never rushed, they felt listened to, and encouraged to develop. Clients were proud of their achievements with the help of staff from the service.

Clients talked about the service saving their life and noted that the aftercare was exceptional.

Carers told us that groups were very good, and they were encouraged to speak up and be themselves.