We are With You North Lincolnshire

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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 changed to outstanding.

Outstanding: This meant people were truly respected and valued as individuals; and empowered as partners in their care in an exceptional service. Staff treated all patients with compassion and kindness. They respected patients’ privacy and dignity. They fully understood the individual needs of patients and supported clients to be leaders in their own recovery. Staff involved clients in care planning and risk assessment and actively sought their feedback on the quality of care provided. Staff informed and involved families and carers appropriately and compassionately.

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.

We scored the service as 4. The evidence showed an exceptional standard. The service was exceptional at treating people with kindness, empathy and compassion and in how they respected people’s privacy and dignity. Staff always treated colleagues from other organisation’s with kindness and respect.

All clients we spoke with were extremely positive about the staff and told us they felt that staff respected them and went above and beyond in their roles. Clients told us they are the “best people to talk to and always engaged with what you are saying” and “they are so compassionate, so nice and so attentive more than anything. They sit, listen and genuinely take the most care.”

During our assessment we spoke with 17 members of staff, including recovery, community engagement and lived experience workers, volunteers, team leaders, senior nurse, non-medical prescribers, clinical lead and the registered manager. They told us all clients were treated as individuals, empowered and supported to manage their treatment and recovery. Staff understood the individual needs of clients, including their personal, cultural, social and religious needs. Staff attitudes and behaviours when interacting with clients showed that they were discreet, respectful and responsive, providing clients with help, emotional support and advice at the time they needed it. All staff were particularly sensitive to times when people using the service needed caring and compassionate support. Staff discussed this with them and explored their needs and preferences in relation to personal and family support. This included working with different workers to enable the client to meet their needs and goals, for example one client had support from a recovery worker and employment support worker to support regulation of emotions through support with substance use and support for a longer term goal of employment.

Feedback from clients indicated that all aspects of the service delivered the same kindness and compassion. Feedback included “Reception staff are amazing, always friendly, professional and discreet” and in describing all staff “They are really good people, and I haven't met anyone here that I don't like” and “They talk to you and know your name.”

Staff directed clients to other services when appropriate and, if required, supported them to access those services. We received feedback from 6 external partners who told us they had positive working relationships with the service and told us that the service took an open and collaborative approach to meet the needs of all clients.

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

We scored the service as 3. The evidence showed a good standard. The service treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. They took account of people’s strengths, goals, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

The service provided evening and weekend clinics for people working or unable to come during the week. The service also operates from some clinics and groups from GP surgeries which are closer to where people live as the service covers a large area. Clients we spoke with confirmed that the service would try to accommodate their needs.

The service told us that the first few appointments with a client, the session focused on the recovery worker understanding the needs of the clients. Clients are not forced into groups, they may require longer or shorter appointments and they would consider the gender of the recovery worker and accommodate this where possible.

The service was accessible for all, including access to the premises for disabled people and by meeting clients’ specific communication or neurodiverse needs. The service had access to interpreters to meet any language barriers. Staff ensured recovery plans included any equality and diversity information pertaining to the client and how they wanted to be treated.

Staff ensured that clients could obtain information on treatments, local services, clients’ rights and how to complain. This information was visible in the waiting area and in one-to-one rooms.

We scored the service as 3. The evidence showed a good standard. The service promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

Staff offered clients alternative treatment options if they were unable to comply with specific treatment requirements e.g. buprenorphine as an alternative to methadone. Buvidal was also offered to clients including as a detox option.

Staff signposted clients to supportive services within the community such as mutual aid groups and services offering psychosocial intervention strategies. Staff supported clients to access activities and the local community to promote and support their independence, health and wellbeing and to maintain relationships and networks that are important to them.

Staff supported and enabled clients to have choice and control over their own care and to make decisions about their care, treatment and wellbeing.

We scored the service as 4. The evidence showed an exceptional standard. The service was exceptional in how they listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff responded to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

The clients we spoke with said staff supported them in times of distress and went above and beyond in their role. We observed interactions and received feedback from clients which showed members of staff collaborated with clients holistically allowing them to be involved in the decision making regarding a treatment plan and support. The service also identified physical or mental health concerns and responded to risks to, or posed by, clients. Staff collaborated with clients to develop crisis plans and relapse prevention strategies.

We observed a group session during our onsite inspection. The service offered a range of sessions such as resilience sessions, social groups, craft group, men’s group and client allotment days. The sessions were established to allow for flexibility and to endeavour to meet all the needs of clients attending, for example staff told us they tried to avoid using worksheets, they adapted the topic or session to meet the needs of the clients on that day and provided pre group support. For example clients with neurodiverse needs could attend the service earlier, staff support was provided and refreshments to help the client feel more settled and safer prior to the group session.

We spoke with staff about meeting the needs of hard-to-reach groups. The service met these clients in the community and worked in collaboration with other providers to support the homeless and vulnerable women to exit sex work. External partners we spoke with fed back that staff were “quick to build a relationship with clients and were aware of needs of the client groups.” Staff encouraged clients to take naloxone home with them to mitigate the risk of death from overdosing on opiate drugs.

The service provided support, in collaboration with other providers, within the service for physical health such as wound care provided by the community nursing team, hepatitis C testing, fibro scanning provided by a community liver specialist nurse in a full day clinic on a quarterly basis and acupuncture which offered benefits including easing withdrawal symptoms, curbing cravings and promoting overall wellness.

The service had completed training in motivational interviewing, responding to domestic abuse, ASIST suicide, level 3 trauma, living with grief and loss training and working with perpetrators. Staff we spoke with felt the training they received equipped them for dealing with the complex needs of the client group they supported.

We scored the service as 4. The evidence showed an exceptional standard. The service always cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and was exceptional at supporting and enabling staff to always deliver person-centred care.

Every member of staff we spoke with felt respected, supported and valued. They all spoke positively about the service, leaders and managers who encouraged an open, supportive and honest culture.

Staff told us they felt confident to raise concerns with any of the managers and told us they always take things seriously.

All 17 members of the team we spoke with were especially proud of their team and working for the provider. We spoke with some members of the team who were leaving the service due to retirement or for career progression and they had no concerns to raise or improvements they felt the service could make. Staff told us that wellbeing was embedded within the team and the culture.

Staff had access to support for their own physical and emotional health needs through an occupational health service. The organisation also provided several online resources, benefits and access to discounts for employees.

The service recognised staff success within the service and we saw a ‘shout out board’ containing feedback from clients or appreciation from other services or colleagues. This board was always covered in a team meeting.

Managers told us that the local council had a healthy workplace awards scheme and in June 2025 the service achieved gold standard for their commitment to becoming a healthier workplace. This included health promotion, smoking cessation, health and wellbeing events, advice, information and managerial processes to support staff.

Staff appraisals included conversations about career development and how it could be supported. Staff we spoke with told us that they received a comprehensive induction to the service, including one to one, online training and shadowing. They also told us that forms and processes would be explained and then revisited to ensure understanding and provide support where required.

Staff followed clear personal safety protocols, including for lone working. We spoke with staff who told us that they felt safe, they told us any current risks were covered in morning meetings and they felt appropriate actions were taken when required.