Archived: Addaction - Coventry

Updated 18 October 2016

Addaction Coventry is a community substance misuse service. As part of the local commissioning agreement, the service operates under the name The Recovery Partnership. It works closely with the Addaction substance misuse services in Warwickshire.

The local authority commissions the service and it covers all of Coventry. The service provides an outreach clinic and work with local charities to provide specific support for hard to reach groups such as sex workers.

Addaction has 63 contracts nationally providing a range of substance misuse services.

The service has open access for clients age 18 and over who have an issue with substance misuse. They provide a range of services for both drug and alcohol users including assessments, needle exchange, criminal justice interventions, prescribing, physical health checks, group support and one to one support.

They work closely with local community mental health teams to provide support to people with a dual diagnosis of substance misuse and a diagnosed mental health issue.

The service provides community detoxification and support to access inpatient detoxification and residential rehabilitation.

Addaction Coventry opens 9am – 5pm four days a weeks and 9am – 7pm on a Tuesday.

The service uses recovery champions who are ex-service users and volunteers to provide mutual aid partnership meetings, peer support and group sessions.

The independent advocacy service is specifically for clients with substance misuse issues and has a base within the service.

Addaction offer regulated activities in treatment of disease, disorder, or injury and diagnostic and screening procedures. The service has a registered manager.

The service was last inspected in December 2013 and met all standards. There were no compliance actions.

Updated 18 October 2016

We do not currently rate independent standalone substance misuse services.

We found the following issues that the service provider needs to improve:

• Nurses cleaned the clinic rooms however there was no rota for this or records to show how often they cleaned them. The service used one room for clinics, which was not fit for purpose as it had a carpeted floor, and no handwashing facilities, which increased the risk of infection.

• Not all areas of the building were clean and well maintained. The upstairs waiting area was unclean and the sanitary waste bin in the disabled toilet was over flowing.

• The needle exchange worked well however it contained out of date needles and syringes. We spoke to staff about this but it remained unresolved at the end of the inspection. It was not clear how staff audited this area

• Staff did not always update risk assessments with new information about a client’s current situation. Recovery plans lacked detail and were not always recovery focussed. Staff did not always record a full history of a client’s substance misuse. This made it difficult for staff to support clients when workers had periods of absence.

• The service used paper records, an electronic recording system, and personal files on the computer system to store records. Some paperwork was kept in staff drawers and pigeonholes. The system for storing paper records made it difficult to locate files and this could affect client’s safety and care.

• The service was based in a large building set over three floors. The building was in need of some updating inside. The rooms did not have soundproofing and client conversations could be overheard. The needle exchange had a partially obscured window, which meant other clients could see inside. This meant the service could not maintain the confidentiality and privacy of clients using the service.

• The service did not provide separate facilities for clients with children within the building. If a client had to bring a child with them, they would wait in the reception area. This was busy and an area the service had identified as a potential risk.

• The service was not notifying the Care Quality Commission of incidents that required notification under their registration.

However, we also found the following areas of good practice:

• Staff received regular supervision and an annual appraisal. The records from these contained detailed action points. They covered a range of topics including case management and safeguarding.

• The service had built strong relationships with external organisations such as housing, local charities and the community mental health teams. This enabled clients to build support networks outside of the service giving them a holistic approach to recovery.

• The service provided a range of treatment options including one to one support, group therapy, and community detoxification programmes. They did not have waiting lists and clients could drop in for support.

• The staff had a good understanding of the needs of their clients and showed commitment and a passion for their work and the clients they supported.

Updated 18 October 2016

see overall summary