Archived: Turning Point - Leigh Bank

Updated 3 August 2016

Turning Point – Leigh Bank is an 11-bed unit that provides accommodation and treatment for clients recovering from substance misuse. The service provides residential and non-residential psychosocial rehabilitation to males and females aged between 18 and 65 years. Clients who come to Leigh Bank have already completed a detoxification programme, which means they are no longer actively using alcohol or misusing drugs. Most clients stay at Leigh Bank for 12 weeks. Referrals usually come from community drug and alcohol teams, with placements being funded through local commissioners.

Leigh Bank is one of 82 registered services provided by Turning Point. It has been registered with the Care Quality Commission since 8 February 2011. The service is registered to provide the regulated activity - accommodation for persons who require treatment for substance misuse.

We previously inspected Turning Point - Leigh Bank on 19 September 2012 and 16 August 2013. The service was found to be meeting all the standards we looked at on these inspections.

There was a registered manager in place at Turning Point – Leigh Bank but they were absent at the time of the inspection. The provider had notified us of the absence of the registered manager. The team leader had made an application to become the registered manager and we were considering their application at the time of the inspection.

Updated 3 August 2016

We do not currently rate independent standalone substance misuse services.

We found the following areas of good practice:

• Leigh Bank’s environment was safe and homely. Staff carried out regular health and safety and environmental risk assessments. There were sufficient staff on duty: staff were available to support clients on site during the day and by telephone out of hours. Care records contained a person-centred risk assessment and management plan. Incidents were investigated and lessons learned were fed back to staff. Staff were well supported to provide safe care.

• Clients identified their own recovery plans and staff worked with them to review their progress and goals. There was an evidence-based therapy programme to help clients recover from drug and alcohol dependency. Staff worked closely with a local GP to manage clients’ physical health needs. Staff had received training in the Mental Capacity Act.

• Clients told us that staff were caring and approachable. Clients spoke highly about the peer mentorship scheme. Clients were involved in identifying and reviewing their recovery goals. Clients had a say in how the service was run.

• The service had developed a day rehabilitation service so clients did not have to stay overnight. Clients were able to take part in daily activities such as gardening and cooking. The building could accommodate clients with physical disabilities with ramped access and a modified en suite bedroom on the ground floor. There were no complaints but there was information for patients on how to raise a complaint and a system in place to process and oversee complaints.

• Staff were committed to improving lives and helping clients recover. Managers were approachable and supportive. Key performance indicators were used to monitor how well the service was performing. There were regular quality assessment audits and governance meetings, with outcomes being fed back to staff.

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

• Urine testing arrangements did not follow best practice in infection control as they were being done on a cleared, covered desk in the ward office.

• Window restrictors in two of the rooms on the third storey were faulty. This had not been identified by the service’s health and safety checks.

• Transfer and discharge plans, including information to support unexpected exits from treatment, were not completed and filed in clients’ care records.