A health watchdog has highlighted safety improvements at a residential drug treatment centre in Hove in an official inspection report.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said that St Thomas Fund, in Cromwell Road, Hove, had tackled two areas of concern flagged up after the previous inspection last December.
The CQC did not give one of its usual ratings to the rehab charity. The watchdog said: “We do not currently rate independent standalone substance misuse services.”
It carried out an unannounced inspection three months ago and published its findings 10 days ago on Wednesday 11 October.
CQC inspector James Holloway said: “This report describes our judgment of the quality of care at this location.
“It is based on a combination of what we found when we inspected and a review of all information available to CQC including information given to us from patients, the public and other organisations.
“The St Thomas Fund provides residential substance misuse rehabilition treatment based on cognitive behavioural therapy alongside a person centred approach to eight people in a large Victorian house. It is situated in a residential area of Hove.
“It offers a safe, supportive and substance free environment in which people can make informed choices about their future.
“The St Thomas Fund is a charitable organisation providing support to those who have encountered problems with their drug and alcohol use.
“The service does not provide pharmacological interventions. All clients’ detoxification and regular prescriptions are made by the community substance misuse service or the local GP.
“There is a registered manager in place. The service is registered with the Care Quality Commision (CQC) to provide accommodation for persons who require treatment for substance misuse.
“Following our inspection in December 2016 we found that Disclosure and Barring Service checks had not been renewed by all staff in line with the organisation’s policy of renewing these every three years.
“Disclosure and Barring Service checks provide information to approve people who work with vulnerable adults and children.
“However, at this inspection we saw evidence that all staff had a current Disclosure and Barring Service check and there was a procedure in place to ensure these were renewed every three years.
“Following our inspection in December 2016 we found that not all staff were up to date with their Mental Capacity Act training.
“At this inspection we saw staff training records which showed that staff had completed Mental Capacity Act training.
“The service had policies in place to ensure staff knew which actions to take if a client was unable to consent due to temporary incapacity and staff used these effectively.
“Staff would monitor the client and not ask for consent if they assessed the client as lacking capacity but would wait until a more appropriate time.
“This ensured that all clients were aware of the treatment programme they had consented to.
The service was staffed 24 hours a day … The service employed one manager, two senior project workers, four recovery workers, two night and two weekend workers as well as four peer mentors. The local GP practice provided medical support.”
Bank staff were used only occasionally and, whenever possible, the same bank staff stood in to provide continuity of care.
