Barnsley Recovery Steps

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

At our last inspection we rated this key question good. At this inspection the rating has remained good.

This meant the service was consistently managed and well-led. Leaders and the culture they created promoted high-quality, person-centred care.

We have not awarded this service a score for Well-led.

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

We scored the service as 4. The evidence showed an exceptional standard. The service had a very clear shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and an exceptional understanding of the challenges and the needs of people and their communities.

The service had very clear values, shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based around kindness, courage and compassion. The provider had created a 10-year strategy of ‘save a million lives and enhance a million more’. Staff had the opportunity to consult on this strategy through regional events, staff surveys and other feedback opportunities.
Staff we spoke with knew and understood the provider’s vision and values and how they were applied in the work of their team.
The organisational vision was to break down the barriers that stopped people getting the support they needed to live a life they value. Staff and leaders could give extensive examples of how they aimed to do so, including projects and campaigns which aimed to reach out to the community, and to improve access to those people least likely to access the service.
The management team told us the provider was a value driven organisation. Key partners echoed the excellence of the vision, direction and culture of the service. Feedback from one partner agency was that “Barnsley Recovery Steps plays a vital role within Barnsley's treatment and recovery system, providing compassionate, person-centred support to individuals, families and communities affected by substance use. The service delivers evidence-based interventions that reduce harm, improve health and wellbeing and support people to achieve and sustain recovery”.
Managers had embedded key aims within the organisational strategy into the day to day running of the service. For example, staff recognition at all staff meetings was aligned to some of the key aims within the organisational strategy. This meant staff received awards and recognition for areas including going above and beyond, delivering results, working together, and by leading and inspiring others.
The culture of the service was extremely person centred, inclusive and empowering. Personalised care based on equal rights for all, was pivotal to the services beliefs and operation. This was brought about through the exceptional and clear leadership and through the values and goals shared by all. Staff had the opportunity to contribute to discussions about the strategy for their service and other changes to improve service delivery. There were staff working groups to discuss changes within the organisation. Staff at all levels told us there was a consultative approach to work across the service.
Managers could explain how they were working to deliver high-quality care within the budgets available. Since our last inspection, a segmentation model had been implemented by the service. This model meant that clients were seen by appropriate teams and staff members dependant on their individual needs rather than a ‘one size, fits all’ model. This provided a consistent framework for staff, strengthening care planning and review, while giving managers clear oversight of individual progress and service performance. This represented an enhancement on traditional models and ensured treatment was purposeful, dynamic and tailored, rather than standardised, leading to more effective use of clinical resource and improved patient experience.
The service worked closely with commissioners, who were responsible for allocating the funding according to local need, to ensure investment was targeted where it would have the greatest impact. Barnsley Recovery Steps used the investment to increase frontline capacity, recruit additional Recovery Navigators and reduce average caseloads from around 75–80 people per worker to approximately 50. Management told us that this had enabled staff to provide more consistent, responsive and personalised support, particularly for people with higher levels of vulnerability and those who did not have recovery as their immediate treatment goal.

We scored the service as 3. The evidence showed a good standard. The service had inclusive leaders at all levels who understood the context in which they delivered care, treatment and support and embodied the culture and values of their workforce and organisation. Leaders had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. They did so with integrity, openness and honesty.

Leaders had the skills, knowledge and experience to perform their roles. They had a good understanding of the services they managed and could explain clearly how the teams were working to provide high-quality care.
Leaders were visible in the service and approachable for clients and staff. Staff spoke extremely positively about managers and senior leaders. Senior leaders were visible throughout the service, often visiting sites. Staff told us managers were easily accessible.

We saw evidence that managers implemented changes as a result of staff feedback. Staff had identified a lack of space following an increase in staffing numbers and an increase of people in treatment. This had resulted in limited meeting spaces, less availability of 1-1 rooms and no identified area for breaks. As a response to this feedback, service managers had acquisitioned the building next door to 5/6 Burleigh Court. This had provided more office and desk space, a designated area on the ground floor for anybody with mobility issues, an additional meeting room equipped with digital media and an allocated space for staff breaks and wellbeing activities.

Leadership development opportunities were available, including opportunities for staff. Many staff, including volunteers and people with lived experience described how they had progressed within the service and told us this was something managers actively promoted. Since our last inspection, there had been 6 existing staff members who had been successful in applying for lead practitioner roles within the service. There had also been 4 managers within the service who had been successful in progressing to more senior roles since our last inspection.

Managers within the service had supported staff to develop. Since our last inspection, the service had recruited to two specialist roles within the service. The service had supported a member of staff to complete Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA) training, meaning a domestic violence lead that sat within the service.

The service had also acquired funding to develop a mental health practitioner within the service. The successful candidate was a Recovery Navigator within the community team. The service had supported them to acquire a post graduate qualification, 'Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioner in Sever Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol'. The successful candidate was internal. The person who was successful had now completed their course and worked as a Mental Health Practitioner within the Integrated Recovery Team.

Leadership development opportunities were available, including opportunities for staff. Many staff, including volunteers and people with lived experience described how they had progressed within the service and told us this was something managers actively promoted. 
Staff fed back that there was accountability within the service at all levels. They told us that management were very transparent and listened to staff and clients. Staff felt confident in their leaders and able to go to them for support whenever they required this.

There was overwhelmingly positive feedback about people’s experience of the service. Clients spoke very highly of the staff and the care and support, they received. Clients told us clearly about the care, dedication and compassion received from the staff teams who supported people. We saw evidence of managers providing additional support and reasonable adjustments for staff such as, dedicated daily admin time, access to transcription tools and reduced caseloads.

We scored the service as 3. The evidence showed a good standard. The service fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard.

The service valued and listened to the views of staff. Staff were given opportunities to provide feedback about the service and their opinion was valued.

The service had policies and procedures to support whistleblowing and freedom to speak up, and staff told us they knew how to access the policies and who to contact if they had any queries or concerns. Local managers
promoted an open and honest culture within the service. Staff we spoke with understood these policies and procedures and felt comfortable using them without fear of reprisal.
Clients, carers and external agencies had opportunities to give feedback on the service in a
manner that reflected their individual needs.
There was a concerns process in place which allowed staff to submit concerns either anonymously or directly by email, telephone or through an online portal. All submissions were directed to central services within the organisation. They ensured there was a process for concerns to be reviewed independently outside of the senior leadership team.
The service ensured staff could provide feedback through an annual staff survey. Staff could also provide feedback or raise concerns at daily flash meetings and all staff meetings.
Managers and staff had access to the feedback from clients, carers and staff and used it to make improvements. Staff were invited to senior leadership meetings to feedback on information they gathered from the workforce.
Staff told us managers could make reasonable adjustments to accommodate their individual needs and personal circumstances. Long term changes were made through flexible working applications, but managers could make short- term adjustments, for example to working hours if needed. Some staff had adapted workspaces, work from home arrangements, and amended hours in place.
Staff and leaders all described a transparent culture and told us they felt comfortable raising concerns if they needed to. There were many means of communication to ensure an open and transparent culture including weekly newsletters, Microsoft teams channels and by email.

We scored the service as 3. The evidence showed a good standard. The service valued diversity in their workforce. They worked towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who worked for them.

Staff completed equality and diversity training. Training compliance across the service was 100% at the time of inspection and there were equality and diversity leads within the service.
There was an equality, diversity and inclusion forum within the organisation who arranged various events throughout the year including facilitating a stall at the local Pride festival.
Staff could apply to work flexibly to account for personal circumstances such as caring responsibilities and health issues. Managers put reasonable adjustments in place for staff members to help them carry out their role.
The service undertook equality monitoring of staff within the service to ensure it was diverse in its make-up and representative of the client group. Information about the background and demographic of staff was stored on an electronic dashboard which managers captured during the recruitment process.
The service recognised and were proactive in ensuring the workforce met the client’s needs. Managers had employed a European worker who was of the same nationality as a specific group of clients. This was following feedback about language barriers and communication needs. Managers spoke positively about this and told us feedback within the district had been very positive.
Staff advised us that leaders were sensitive to cultural and religious events such as Ramadan, Pride and Disability events.

We scored the service as 3. The evidence showed a good standard. The service had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. They used these to manage and deliver good quality, sustainable care, treatment and support. They acted on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and shared this securely with others when appropriate.

Managers had access to all information needed to support them with their role. This included information on the performance of the service, staffing and client care. Managers received and reviewed reports concerning different elements of the service including successful completion of treatment rates, risk assessment and recovery plan compliance, and waiting times for initial assessments. Information was in an accessible format, and was timely, accurate and identified areas for improvement. There were effective systems in place that ensured staff received mandatory training. These figures were collated centrally and the senior management team had oversight of any fluctuations or anomalies to the figures.
There was a clear framework of what must be discussed at team meetings to ensure that essential information, such as learning from incidents and complaints, was shared and discussed.
Staff had implemented recommendations from reviews of deaths, incidents, complaints and safeguarding alerts at service level. Staff undertook or participated in local clinical audits. The audits were sufficient to provide assurance and staff acted on the results when needed. For example, the service audited and completed stock checks of medicines and pharmacists audited prescriptions charts and provided managers with information on prescribing patterns. Managers reviewed these regularly to identify any prescribing outliers.
Managers had fully embedded the arrangements for working with other teams, both within the service and external, to meet the needs of the clients. Staff we spoke with fully understood and could explain the joint working arrangements in place to provide high-quality care.
There were effective systems in place for the management of risk, issues and performance. Managers used an electronic ‘priority tracker’ to monitor core interventions, pending reviews and appointments and completed tasks. Recovery workers used the tracker to manage their caseloads.
Staff maintained and had access to the risk register at site and overall service level. Staff at site level could escalate concerns when required. We reviewed the risk register and saw that each risk was graded in terms of severity, with actions in place to mitigate the risk, and regular review dates in place. Staff concerns matched those on the risk register.
The service had plans for emergencies, for example, adverse weather or a flu outbreak. There were continuity plans in place for each site which had been reviewed within the last 12 months. These set out contingency plans for key areas of potential service impact including staffing, loss of internet or adverse weather.
Staff had access to the equipment and information technology needed to do their work. The information technology infrastructure, including the telephone system, worked well and helped to improve the quality of care. Information governance systems included confidentiality of client records.
 

We scored the service as 4. The evidence showed an exceptional standard. The service clearly understood and carried out their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, and services worked seamlessly for people. They always shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement.

The provider collaborated closely with local, regional and national stakeholders and partners to develop, review and evaluate the service to ensure it consistently met people's needs.
Care records demonstrated and staff told us that staff had excellent working relationships with a wide range of external partners and agencies. Staff regularly liaised with stakeholders including local hospitals, GP practices, mental health services, social services, charities, local religious centres, criminal justice services and community groups.
Staff worked collaboratively and had found effective ways to deliver joined-up care and treatment. This included effective partnership working with the Hepatitis Trust, South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw and North Derbyshire NHS Operational Delivery Network, and NHS Hepatology Nurse Support to achieve micro-elimination of Hepatitis C. People who tested positive followed a clear pathway, including joint appointments with the Hepatology nurse, liver scan, further blood tests and Hepatitis C treatment. This treatment was delivered alongside substance misuse care, ensuring that people were not required to navigate separate systems or delay either element of treatment. The service met the required micro-elimination targets, including offering Hepatitis C testing to 100% of people in structured treatment, testing 100% of those with a history of injecting, ensuring at least 90% of current and previous injectors had a Hepatitis C test recorded within the last 12 months, and ensured that at least 90% of people who tested positive for Hepatitis C had commenced treatment.

Staff and managers at all levels demonstrated knowledge of their responsibilities around partnership and collaboration with services to meet the needs of their clients and ensure they could access other services locally if needed. This included supporting clients to attend volunteer–led services in the community that provided a range of support including psychosocial interventions, groups sessions and aftercare for people including those with substance use issues. 
Staff were supported and encouraged to acquire new skills, use their transferable skills, and share best practice with external stakeholders. 
Since our last inspection Barnsley Recovery Steps had significantly expanded the availability of naloxone (a life-saving medicine that reverses opioid overdose) through a coordinated, multi-agency approach. The service had played a key role in supporting South Yorkshire Police to introduce naloxone carriage, delivering training that had enabled frontline officers to respond effectively to overdose incidents. In addition, the service had widened access through community pharmacy supply arrangements and delivered training across a range of partners, including housing providers, probation services, family members and carers. This has been further extended to town centre wardens and door staff within the night-time economy, ensuring naloxone was available in high-risk locations and settings. 
 

We scored the service as 4. The evidence showed an exceptional standard. The service had a strong focus on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. They always encouraged creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people. They actively contribute to safe, effective practice and research.

Staff were given the time and support to consider opportunities for improvements and this led to positive changes. 
Managers could describe a range of quality improvement projects within the service. These included the service being one of the early adopters of Buvidal in February 2019 when it was still emerging within UK community substance misuse services. This was a significant development and demonstrated the service’s willingness to test innovative, evidence-based approaches.

In 2023, as grant funding increased, Barnsley Recovery Steps used the opportunity to strengthen visible recovery across the borough by commissioning support from The Basement Recovery Project, an established Lived Experience Recovery Organisation (LERO). The aim was to build sustainable recovery capital in Barnsley and support the development of the town’s own independent, locally led recovery offer. This work contributed to significant growth at the McLintocks building and the development of a refreshed Recovery Hub model.
Since our last inspection, Barnsley recovery steps had developed the McLintocks building into the service’s ‘Recovery Hub’. The hub delivered a 6-day timetable of activities including evening provision, Friday social session, a Saturday session, peer led groups, recovery events, graduations and celebrations for people completing recovery programmes. The Hub provided aftercare and mutual aid pathways and ran alongside Barnsley Recovery Connections (BRC), which lead activities including Recovery Games participation and other seasonal recovery activities.
The service was part of the anti-stigma campaign and undertook outreach programmes to groups that were difficult to engage. The service identified Ketamine as an emerging and significant local risk, with increasing use reported amongst both adults and young people. In response, the service created a campaign using accessible and targeted messages across social media, animation, videos, workshops, young people’s sessions and family support. 
The campaign achieved a significant reach and impact. The launch animation was viewed over 50,000 times and a recovery story video was viewed over 23,000 times. Website activity almost doubled during the campaign and Ketamine support presentations increased compared with the same period the previous year, including a 250% increase in May 2025. This approach resulted in a weekly Ketamine support group being formed.

One of the service’s bases, McLintocks, was a visible, welcoming, community-based recovery space, offering formal treatment appointments. It provided structured treatment, peer support, mutual aid, health improvement, practical support, family support and wider community connection. 
A recent addition to the Recovery Hub was the ‘Good Food Pantry’. This provided a dignified step down from food bank reliance, enabling people in treatment to access greatly reduced cost bags of food while retaining choice by selecting items directly from the shelves. The pantry was supported through donations, alongside proactive work by staff to source good-quality, low-cost supermarket and online offers that could be passed on to clients.. 
The pantry was also used creatively to support engagement through positive reinforcement, informed by contingency management principles. For example, people attending specific groups or interventions may have been offered a food bag as a practical incentive for participation. This provided immediate support with food insecurity while reinforcing treatment engagement, attendance and connection with the Recovery Hub. The pantry also had links directly with cook and eat sessions, where people learned to prepare affordable meals and could then take home a bag of ingredients to replicate the meal with their family. This supported healthier routines, practical life skills, family connection, confidence and dignity, while contributing to wider recovery capital.

Barnsley Recovery Steps launched an innovative Pain Management Clinic pilot in partnership with South Yorkshire Connect Pain Health Service and local GP practices. The service was developed to address the growing risks associated with long-term prescribed opiate-based medications, offering clients specialist psychosocial support alongside their GP and pharmacist to safely reduce or stop medicines while improving wellbeing and quality of life.
The model embedded a specialist practitioner within GP practices, enabling clients to access support in a familiar setting and reduce barriers to engagement. It represented a shift from traditional approaches by combining prescribing review with personalised behavioural and psychological support. In its first year, the pilot expanded to five GP practices, supporting clients to safely reduce or discontinue opioids. It had also strengthened primary care capability through training, awareness raising and support to over 220 healthcare professionals.