The Care Quality Commission
  • Community
  • Community substance misuse service

Archived: Lifeline Redcar Prevention Service

Unit 8, 112 High Street, Redcar, TS10 3DD

Provided and run by:
Lifeline Project

All Inspections

13th June 2017

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We do not currently rate independent standalone substance misuse services.

Following our last inspection in July 2016, the provider was required to make improvements to comply with two regulations as follows:

  • The service’s premises did not always meet the needs of all clients accessing the service and enable staff to maintain clients’ privacy and dignity.
  • The service did not assess the risks to all clients and plan to manage those risks.

The 2016 inspection report was published in January 2017. We carried out a focused inspection within six months of the published report and found that the provider had improved the service.

We found that:

  • All clients’ records included a risk assessment.
  • Staff completed all risk assessments on an updated standardised format, which allowed more detailed information to be recorded about the client.
  • In line with Lifeline’s policy, staff had prepared plans to manage risk where it was medium or high.
  • Managers completed a full audit of all client records in January 2017. After that, a team leader checked and signed off all new and updated risk assessments.
  • The service had changed the internal layout of its premises to make two rooms available for client consultations with staff at all times.

This means that the provider was no longer in breach of regulation.

13 to 14 July 2016

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We do not currently rate independent standalone substance misuse services.

We found the following areas of good practice:

  • Staff worked collaboratively as a team and with other organisations to support the care and treatment needs of the client group.
  • The service provided clients with a range of therapeutic treatments to aid their recovery. Staff were able to support families of clients and provide them with information on other help and support that was available to them.
  • Staff treated clients and their families with kindness and respect. We observed positive, caring and empathetic interactions between staff and clients.
  • Staff provided flexibility for clients and were able to give clients a choice about where they would like their appointments to be.
  • Clients and their families were asked for feedback on the service provided. Complaints regarding the service were dealt with in line with Lifeline Project’s complaints policy. Staff provided information on how to make a complaint.
  • Staff knew when and how to report incidents. Lessons learned from incidents and complaints were shared in team meetings and staff supervision.
  • There were systems in place to monitor the effectiveness of the service. Staff carried out regular audits to ensure staff were working in line with service policies.
  • Staff completed consent to share information and confidentiality agreement paperwork with clients at initial assessment. This was present in all ten records we reviewed.

However, we also found the following issues that the service provider needs to improve:

  • Clinical staff were asked not to access records of clients who attended the Lifeline Redcar Prevention Service. However, there was no system in place that allowed managers to monitor access to these records.
  • Not all clients had appropriate risk assessments and related risk management plans in place.

Our judgements about each main service