07 January 2019
During a routine inspection
We rated Addaction Shropshire as good because:
- The service provided safe care. The premises where clients were seen were safe and clean. The service did not have waiting lists and clients who required urgent support were given priority and seen promptly. Staff assessed and managed risk well and followed good practice with respect to safeguarding.
- The teams included or had access to the full range of specialists required to meet the needs of the clients. Managers ensured that these staff received training, supervision and appraisal. Staff worked well together as a multi-disciplinary team and with relevant services outside the organisation.
- Staff understood the principles underpinning capacity, competence and consent as they apply to young people and managed and spoke with confidence about how this applied to the young people they supported.
- Staff treated clients with compassion and kindness and understood the individual needs of clients. They actively involved clients and families and carers in care decisions. Clients were supported to take responsibility for their own recovery and staff supported them in a non-judgemental way to achieve this.
- The service was easy to access. The reception area was friendly and welcoming and reception staff and volunteers were available to greet clients. The service used a duty system with a dedicated team available to respond to phone calls and make initial assessments. The service did not exclude people who would have benefitted from care.
- The service was well led and the governance processes ensured that procedures relating to the work of the service ran smoothly.
However:
- Although staff did not routinely do lone visits in the community all staff had personal alarms to use in an emergency but not all staff checked that these worked on a regular basis.
- The adult service did not have good links with advocacy services. They had started work to improve this but there were no signs displayed for clients to know how to access this type of independent support.