Banbury Lodge

Ratings - Residential substance misuse services

• Overall

  Good

• Safe

  Good

• Effective

  Good

• Caring

  Good

• Responsive

  Good

• Well-led

  Good

Our view of the service

An assessment of Banbury Lodge took place between 30 April – 13 May 2025 using our Single Assessment Framework. As part of the assessment, we visited the service on 30 April 2025. We undertook this assessment following information of concern we had received and decided to conduct an assessment covering 33 quality statements across the five key questions, to assess if the service is safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led.

Banbury Lodge is operated by Sanctuary Banbury Limited, part of UK Addiction Treatment Services (UKAT) network. It was registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in September 2017 and opened in April 2018. It is a 22 bed residential unit providing detoxification and rehabilitation programmes to clients over the age of 16 with substance misuse needs, including alcohol and/or opiate dependency. The service offers eating disorder treatment and also provides personalised treatment plans tailored to address behavioural disorders. The service provides care for clients who do not require 24-hour medical intervention, can self-care, and have full mental capacity. Admissions vary based on client need and range from two weeks to three months. The service uses a medically monitored detox model that provides a programme of psychological interventions focused on positive behaviour change, thinking, and emotional response.

The team that inspected Banbury Lodge comprised two CQC inspectors, one CQC pharmacist specialist and one specialist advisor. During the assessment we spoke to 17 staff of various roles. We spoke to 12 people who used the service, family members and carers. We reviewed 8 care records of people who used the service, and how the service was managing medicines. We observed a handover meeting and a community meeting. We reviewed a range of data including complaints, incidents and policies.

We last inspected the service in September 2022 and rated them as Good overall and Good across all key questions. At this inspection, we again rated the service Good overall and Good in all key questions. We identified that improvement was needed in some areas, such as management of risk and governance processes, however managers and staff had a clear vision for what they wanted to achieve at the service and were developing and implementing processes focussed on promoting a culture of delivering safe and quality care and treatment. The service had a new manager who started working for the service in November 2024 and was working closely with their staff team to successfully implement improvements.

Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act Compliance

Mental Health Act
Banbury Lodge did not admit people detained under the Mental Health Act.

Mental Capacity Act
The service provided care for clients who could consent to treatment. Staff supported clients to make decisions on their care for themselves and recorded capacity to consent. They knew where to get accurate advice on the Mental Capacity Act.

People's experience of this service

We spoke to 12 people who used the service, family members and carers, and they gave mainly positive feedback about their experience of the service. Clients told us that they felt safe and supported and they received the care and treatment they needed. They felt that staff were caring and helpful and were satisfied with the facilities and the food.

Clients told us that staff encouraged them to be involved in their care and treatment and they listened to and respected their needs and wishes. They also told us that they had access to doctors when needed.

Family members and carers told us that the support and treatment clients received at Banbury Lodge had a positive impact on them. People felt involved and found that the therapy offered was good. Some spoke positively about the quality and volume of therapy. However, some told us that communication between the service and family members and carers could improve.