Background to this inspection
Updated
6 November 2019
Kairos Community Trust is a mixed-gender residential rehabilitation service for up to 15 adults with substance misuse problems. The provider is Kairos Community Trust, which is a charitable organisation. Clients could access the service either through self-funding, the local authority or were offered free treatment by Kairos. The programme is based on the 12-step recovery model of addiction. This model provides both group therapy and individual support. The service admits clients who have completed opioid or alcohol detoxification and are abstinent.
The service is registered to provide accommodation for persons who require treatment for substance misuse. The service registered with the CQC in 2011. There was a registered manager in place at the time of the inspection.
We last inspected this service in January 2017. In the report of this inspection, we said the service must improve the way it administered medicines to ensure compliance with regulation 12 of the Health and Social Care Act Regulations 2014 (Safe care and treatment).
Updated
6 November 2019
This is the first time we have rated this substance misuse service.
We rated Kairos Community Trust as good because:
The provider had made significant improvements to the service since our last inspection in January 2017. The service had addressed concerns about medicines management raised in our last report.
Clients were truly respected and valued as individuals. Staff were exceptionally skilled and experienced. They empowered clients as partners in their care and supported them to take ownership of their own recovery journey.
The service had a strong, distinctive ethos of creating a community environment that nurtured trust, responsibility and respect. Feedback from people who use the service, and their care managers who funded the placements, was overwhelmingly positive about the way staff treat clients. Clients valued the support they received and the understanding that staff had of their experiences. They said it felt like being part of family.
The service provided a 12-step abstinence-based rehabilitation programme for people recovering from drug and alcohol addiction that national guidance recommends as being highly effective for people in supporting recovery. The programme involved daily therapy groups and workshops, life story work, one-to-one counselling, ongoing medical assessments and relapse prevention groups.
Most staff had worked at the service for many years and were very experienced. Counsellors had completed extensive training and were well qualified. Three members of staff had been through the recovery programme themselves. All staff were very positive about their experience of working at the service. Staff felt respected, supported and valued. Managers provide one-to-one supervision every two months. Counsellors met each week for clinical supervision, where they discussed the progress of each client and provided support to each other when necessary.
The service completed comprehensive assessments of each client prior to their admission. Assessments were based on discussions with the client and information from the care manager. Staff treated clients as equal partners and ensured that clients were fully involved in care planning and risk assessments.
The organisation had clear, well-established systems for governance and decision making. There were regular meetings of managers across the wider organisation. Staff held weekly team meetings. The service had a comprehensive range of policies and systems for checking that staff were complying with these.
The premises were clean, safe and well-maintained. Clients took responsibility for cleaning and cooking as part of the therapeutic programme.
The organisation provided independent accommodation to clients in properties owned and managed by Kairos Community Trust once the clients had completed the recovery programme. This ensured that clients discharge from the service after 12 weeks was not delayed. Clients also found it reassuring to know they would have a safe place to live when they completed the programme.
The service supported clients with their physical health needs. The service had a good, long-standing relationship with the local GP practice. All clients were registered with this GP. The GP completed assessments of clients’ physical health and referred clients to specialist health services when necessary.
The service communicated well with clients’ care managers. Care managers gave very positive feedback about the service. They said the service always contacted them if there were any concerns about their client. Care managers gave examples of how the service had supported challenging clients to achieve stability and recovery.