Via - West Berkshire

Updated 27 April 2023

WDP West Berkshire provides advice, support and treatment to adults with drug and alcohol problems in West Berkshire. This service is commissioned mostly by West Berkshire Council and a small proportion is funded by the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID). They also provide advice and support for young people in partnership with other community organisations.

The service provides abstinence-based therapy, access to prescribing and community detoxification, group work, and support for family and carers. The service currently supports 357 clients of whom 181 receive medication to support them to become abstinent from illicit drugs.

WDP West Berkshire started operating from 1 April 2022. The service had acquired clients, staff and the premises from another provider of a similar service. Work had been done to improve the premises and make it more fit for purpose. There had been a period of instability in the staffing between April and December 2022 which had improved. Since December 2022 there was more stability and less turnover of staff.

WDP West Berkshire is registered to carry out treatment of disease, disorder or injury. There is a Registered Manager in post. This is the first time that the service has been inspected by the Care Quality Commission.

What people who use the service say

Clients were positive about the service they received. They said staff were kind, respectful and caring. Clients told us staff were supportive and helpful, and there was always someone to speak with when they telephoned or came into the service. All clients told us they felt safe.

Clients felt involved in their care and told us their individual needs were being met. However, clients told us that they did not feel their families were involved in their care or treatment, and their families did not receive support from the service.

Clients told us that sometimes they could be waiting for over an hour to receive their prescription after they had been seen by the General Practitioner (GP). They also told us that they did not feel conversations were confidential because the walls were not suitably sound-proofed as they could hear other client’s conversations.

Updated 27 April 2023

WDP West Berkshire is a community-based substance misuse service that provides advice, support and treatment to adults with drug and alcohol problems in West Berkshire.

The service started operating on 1 April 2022. This is the first time that the service has been inspected by the Care Quality Commission.

The service is registered to carry out treatment of disease, disorder or injury. There is a registered manager in post.

WDP West Berkshire provides advice, support and treatment to adults with drug and alcohol problems in West Berkshire.

This was the first time we rated this service. We rated it as ​good​ because:

• The service provided safe care. The clinical premises where clients were seen were safe and clean. The service had enough staff. Staff assessed and managed risk well and followed good practice with respect to safeguarding.
• Staff developed holistic, recovery-oriented 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 audits to evaluate the quality of care they provided.
• The teams included or had access to 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 with relevant services outside the organisation.
• Staff treated clients with compassion, 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 the client discharge process well.
• The service was well-led, and the governance processes ensured that its procedures ran smoothly.

However:

• The service did not have effective measures for staff to summon help in the event of an emergency.
• The service had not ensured the medicines cabinet was only accessible to authorised staff.
• Staff did not ensure Naloxone was stored in a secure setting. Naloxone is a medicine used to rapidly reverse the effects of an opioid overdose
• The service did not ensure the clinic rooms were fully sound-proofed.
• There was no evidence in clients' records of plans for an early exit from treatment.

Updated 27 April 2023

This was the first time we rated this service. We rated it as ​good​ because:

• The service provided safe care. The clinical premises where clients were seen were safe and clean. The service had enough staff. Staff assessed and managed risk well and followed good practice with respect to safeguarding.
• Staff developed holistic, recovery-oriented 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 audits to evaluate the quality of care they provided.
• The teams included or had access to 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 with 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.
• The service was well-led, and the governance processes ensured that its procedures ran smoothly.

However:

• The service did not have effective measures for staff to summon help in the event of an emergency.
• The service had not ensured the medicines cabinet was only accessible to authorised staff.
• Staff did not ensure Naloxone was stored in a secure setting.
• The service did not ensure the clinic rooms were fully sound-proofed.
• There was no evidence in care records of plans for clients in the event of an early exit from treatment.