CGL West Kent Drug and Alcohol Wellbeing Services Also known as Mill House

We rated CGL West Kent Drug and Alcohol Wellbeing Services 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 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:

• The recording of risk information was variable and inconsistent. Clients risk assessments were not always updated following an incident or reflective of all risks identified, including unplanned exit from treatment.
• Care plans did not always reflect the clients overarching recovery goals, discussions had with the client were not always routinely documented and did not always include discharge planning. Staff did not always ask clients if they wanted a copy of their care plan.
• The service did not adhere to best practice guidance around use of recognised tools for monitoring dependence and withdrawal for clients who used opiates.