The Care Quality Commission
  • Community
  • Community substance misuse service

CGL Cambridgeshire

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Mill House, Mill Road, Cambridge, CB1 3DF 0300 555 0101

Provided and run by:
Change, Grow, Live

All Inspections

During an assessment of Community-based substance misuse services

CGL Cambridgeshire operates across 3 main bases at Cambridge, Wisbech and Huntingdon. The hub sites are strategically planned to maximise the geographical region where the service is provided and ensure accessibility for people. The service also offers satellite services in Ely, St Neots, St Ives, Ramsey, March, Chatteris and Whittlesey to ensure accessibility for service users.

The service is available to anyone with a drug or alcohol issue over the age of 18 years. The service delivers a range of interventions including initial advice, assessment and harm reduction services including needle exchange, prescribed medicines for alcohol and opiate detoxification and stabilisation, naloxone dispensing, group recovery programmes, one-to-one key working sessions, blood borne virus testing and vaccination and doctor and nurse clinics which included health checks. The service also offers hospital liaison, collaborative working with the criminal justice service, homeless outreach, and integrated support with the local authority’s children’s social care services. CGL Cambridgeshire is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to provide the following regulated activities:

Treatment of disease, disorder or injury

At our last inspection from 16 August to 31 August 2022, we rated the provider as good overall and requires improvement in the well led domain. We found the following breaches in Regulation 17 - Good governance:

  • The service did not ensure that governance frameworks were fully embedded to ensure all staff had access to essential information.

At this inspection, we rated the service as good. The service had made improvements and is no longer in breach of regulations. Governance frameworks had been fully embedded, and staff had all the information needed to carry out safe and effective care and treatment.

During an assessment of the hospital overall

We assessed Change Grow Live (CGL) Cambridgeshire from 24th June to 9th July 2026

Change Grow Live Cambridgeshire is part of a national Change Grow Live provider who offer a not-for-profit drug and alcohol treatment service. The Cambridgeshire services are across three bases in Cambridge, Huntingdon and Wisbech. Satellite sites in Ely, St Neots, St Ives, Ramsey, March, Chatteris and Whittlesey ensure accessibility for clients. The service is open access to anyone with a drug or alcohol issue over the age of 18 years.

The service had a registered manager and a nominated individual.

We rated the service as good.

16 August to 31 August 2022

During a routine inspection

Change Grow Live Cambridgeshire Alcohol and Drug Behavioural Change Service is part of a national Change Grow Live provider who provide a not-for-profit drug and alcohol treatment service. The Cambridgeshire services are across three bases in Cambridge, Huntingdon and Wisbech. Satellite sites in Ely, St Neots, St Ives, Ramsey, March, Chatteris and Whittlesey ensure accessibility for clients. The service is open access to anyone with a drug or alcohol issue over the age of 18 years.

We rated this service as good because:

  • The premises where clients were seen were well-maintained and clean.
  • Staff assessed and managed risk well.
  • The service used systems and processes to safely prescribe, administer, record and store medicines.
  • Staff regularly reviewed the effects of medicines on each client's mental and physical health.
  • Staff developed holistic, recovery-oriented care plans informed by a comprehensive assessment.
  • The service provided a range of treatments suitable to meet the needs of the clients and in line with national guidance and best practice.
  • The teams included or had access to the full range of specialists required to meet the needs of clients under their care. Managers ensured that these staff received training and regular appraisal. Staff worked well together as a multidisciplinary team.
  • Staff treated clients with compassion and kindness and understood the individual needs of clients. They actively involved clients in decisions and care planning.
  • The service was easy to access, and clients were seen in a timely manner.

However:

  • Governance structures were not embedded across all three hubs in order to ensure all staff had access to essential information.
  • Managers did not ensure that staff received regular supervision.
  • Managers did not ensure that staff induction records were signed off once completed.
  • The service had a high number of vacancies.