Via - R3 - Redbridge

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• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

This means we looked for evidence that the service involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good.

At this assessment the rating has remained good.

This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect and involved as partners in their care.

We have not awarded this service a score for Caring.

Find out about when we will not publish a key question score and what we look at when we assess Caring.

During our inspection we saw staff engaging with clients very positively. Reception staff were very attentive to clients waiting to be seen, ensuring that they felt welcome, and were not waiting too long.

Staff treated clients with compassion and kindness. They understood the individual needs of clients and supported clients to understand and managed their care and treatment. This included understanding people’s particular needs relating to ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability and social circumstances.

Staff directed clients to other services when appropriate, and, if requested, supported them to access those services. There were leaflets available in the reception area of the service. These included gambling support, mental health services, employment support, naloxone and physical health services.

We spoke to 6 clients and 2 peer mentors who were using the service. They all spoke very highly of the staff in the service. Clients said staff treated them well and behaved appropriately towards them. They told us staff were friendly, non-judgmental, caring and supportive towards them. They were offered regular appointments which were never rushed, felt listened to and encouraged to develop. All clients told us that the service was great for people recovering from substance misuse. One client told us that the service saved their life.

During our inspection we observed 3 groups facilitated by staff where clients engaged well and were supported to speak up about what was and was not helpful in their recovery. We saw staff communicating positively with clients. Relationships with clients were caring, respectful and supportive.

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

The service had clear confidentiality policies in place that were understood and adhered to by staff. Staff maintained the confidentiality of information about clients.

Staff said they could raise concerns about disrespectful, discriminatory or abusive behaviour or attitudes towards clients without fear of negative consequences.

Other clients told us that they could not ask for a better service, felt a warm welcome from the staff, that it was a pleasure to come to the service, and that they could always knock on someone’s door and get access to staff. They were very proud of their achievements with the service.

Staff involved clients in risk assessments and care planning and actively sought their feedback on the quality of care provided. They ensured that clients had easy access to additional support.

Staff communicated with clients, so they understood their care and treatment. Staff offered clients information leaflets about the service.

Staff had regular appointments with clients to review their care and treatment plans and staff gave information leaflets about their treatment for dependence on alcohol or an opioid based substance. Records we reviewed showed that a risk management plan had been discussed and signed by the client.

The service made adjustments for people in response to their needs, including protected characteristics or for those with communication support needs.

The service had created both a women-only and men-only support groups, so people who felt more comfortable in these spaces had the option to attend these.

The service had developed a women's only space for half a day. This provision was available to women at any stage of their treatment. This included self-care, creative activities, complementary therapies and specialist clinical input from a women's nurse. This nurse provided phlebotomy, cervical smear, breast checks which led to specialist referrals, HRT advice and GP registration support. A health psychologist delivered menopause coaching, group sessions addressing sexual health and Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA) support. Service users had been involved in developing the group and aimed for it to be about more than just safety and be a celebration of being a woman and women supporting one another.

The outreach team worked with the local community safety team and a frequent attender group at the local mental health hospital. They engaged with potential clients who might benefit from the service.

The service engaged with commissioners, social care, the voluntary sector, and the local community, to ensure services were planned, developed and delivered to meet the needs of the local population including those in vulnerable circumstances.

Staff we spoke to stated that treatment depended on what the client wanted support with. Staff made a plan to support them with what they wanted to achieve. We saw staff discussing clients’ individual goals in detail and in a caring and compassionate way.

Clients we spoke with stated that they felt involved in their care. Staff stated that they supported clients to make decisions about their own care during meetings. Staff stated that they would decide with clients what the next steps would be and have a discussion surrounding it.

Staff attended daily meetings where they reviewed changing risks to clients. We saw that staff discussed and took into account people’s individual needs, views and wishes.

All staff we spoke with stated that they felt supported by managers. Staff said morale was positive.

Staff said if they had any concerns, they would be able to raise this with managers and they knew who the whistleblowing champion was.

There were opportunities for staff members to develop within their roles and progress to more senior roles.

The service had several initiatives in place to support staff wellbeing. There were posters and information for staff and clients about how to seek help for well-being, mental health and domestic abuse.

The provider had a comprehensive training programme for staff that reflected the needs of the client group.

Several staff had progressed from working as a volunteer at the service to a permanent employee.