The Care Quality Commission
  • Community
  • Community substance misuse service

The Alcohol Service

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

66 Lupus Street, London, SW1V 3EQ 0800 014 7440

Provided and run by:
Change, Grow, Live

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

Change Grow Live (CGL) The Alcohol Service is part of a national not-for-profit provider of drug and alcohol treatment services. The Alcohol Service provides specialist community detoxification and recovery services for adults who require support with alcohol dependence and live in Kensington and Chelsea or Westminster.

The service works in partnership across Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster with other agencies including NHS services, social services, GPs and pharmacies.

The service was open Monday to Friday until 5pm.

There was a registered manager at the service at the time of the inspection.

The service is registered by the CQC on 10 July 2019 to provide the following regulated activity:

  • Treatment of disease, disorder or injury

This was a routine inspection.

CGL The Alcohol Service is one treatment system operating from a main site in Pimlico and satellite sites in Kensington and Chelsea. It provides alcohol treatment and detoxification for residents of the boroughs.

The team that inspected the service comprised of 3 CQC Inspectors, 1 specialist advisor and 1 expert by experience.

We found the following areas of good practice:

  • The service provided safe care. The premises where clients were seen were safe and clean. The number of clients on the caseload of the teams, and of individual members of staff, was not too high to prevent staff from giving each client the time they needed. Staff followed good practice with respect to safeguarding.
  • Staff provided a range of care and treatment interventions suitable for the client group and consistent with national guidance about best practice. They ensured that clients had access to physical healthcare assessments if needed and supported clients to live healthier lives. The service user outcomes in relation to clients successfully completing treatment was above the national benchmark.
  • Staff treated clients with compassion and kindness and understood the individual needs of clients. Clients were involved in the service in several ways. They could contribute feedback, attend service user forum meetings and make suggestions for service improvement. Staff welcomed their families and offered support to them, when appropriate.
  • The service was easy to access. Staff planned and managed discharge well and had alternative pathways for people whose needs it could not meet.
  • The service was well led and the governance processes ensured that its procedures ran smoothly. Leaders had the skills, knowledge and experience to perform their roles. Staff said they felt supported and valued and had good access to a wide range of training.

09 August 2022 11 August 2022

During an inspection looking at part of the service

The Alcohol Service is a substance misuse service which supports clients in the community to overcome their dependence on alcohol, or to reduce the harm this may cause.

We rated it as good because:

  • The service provided safe care. The premises where clients were seen were safe and clean. The number of clients on the caseload of the teams, and of individual members of staff, was not too high to prevent staff from giving each client the time they needed. Staff assessed and managed risk well and followed good practice with respect to safeguarding.
  • Staff developed holistic, recovery-oriented care plans informed by a comprehensive assessment. They provided a range of treatments suitable to the needs of the clients and in line with national guidance about best practice. Staff engaged in clinical audit to evaluate the quality of care they provided.
  • 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, supervision and appraisal. Staff worked well together as a multidisciplinary team and relevant services outside the organisation.
  • 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. Staff planned and managed discharge well and had alternative pathways for people whose needs it could not meet.
  • The service was well led, and the governance processes ensured that its procedures ran smoothly.

However:

  • Whilst routine checks were made of the clinic room, issues were not always responded to promptly.
  • Some other routine equipment checks were either overdue or not recorded, although there was evidence of the provider chasing the contractor.