Recovery Connections

Updated 4 April 2019

Recovery Connections is a peer led organisation based in Middlesbrough. The provider started out as Hope North East, founded in 2008 by members of the local recovery community. The provider achieved charitable status in 2011. Supported by a range of grant funding, the provider established itself as one of the few peer-led organisations nationally. The provider rebranded its name to Recovery Connections in 2016 in recognition of its successful tender for the abstinence and recovery service within Middlesbrough Recovering Together.

Recovery Connections abstinence and recovery service is one of three partner organisations under the Middlesbrough Recovering Together umbrella. It offers a residential rehabilitation programme, also referred to as The Step-Up Programme, for male and female clients recovering from alcohol and drug misuse. Accommodation comprises six flats, which adjoins the Recovery Connections building, with ongoing support to motivate and empower individuals to take responsibility, improve life skills, increase their potential employability and to make their own choices independently. The service is registered to take a maximum of eight service users

The programme is based around a mutual aid 12 step programme and promotes honesty, patience and tolerance, giving back, lived experience and unity as a solution to heal and recover.

The programme is in three parts; primary care, secondary care and after care and lasts for 24 weeks with open ended after care following discharge. In addition, professional recovery to wellness coaching is offered to support the person to work through any challenges they experience and identify a plan of action with accountability.

The service has been registered with the Care Quality Commission since February 2017 to provide accommodation for people who require treatment for substance misuse. The service manager is also the registered manager and the chief executive officer is the nominated individual.

The Care Quality Commission previously inspected Recovery Connections on 29 January 2018. This inspection identified the following regulatory breaches:

Regulation 18 Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 Staffing

Staff mandatory training compliance rates were low for safeguarding children training in relation to staff who predominantly worked with children, young people, parents and carers (50% compliance), a training package from an external provider encompassing a variety of different modules (60% compliance), equality and diversity (0% compliance) and trauma training (50% compliance).

Regulation 9 Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 Person centred care

The service’s use of restrictions was disproportionate and included not allowing clients to wear football tops, not allowing clients to make calls in private, limiting access to outdoor space and not allowing newspapers to be brought into the service without permission.

The regulatory breaches and other areas for improvement were reviewed as part of this latest inspection, details of which can be found throughout this report.

Updated 4 April 2019

We rated Recovery Connections as outstanding because:

• Feedback from clients and carers was continually positive. They said staff were always kind, caring, respectful and supportive, went the extra mile and the service they received had exceeded their expectations. The people who used the service felt involved in decisions about their care and treatment and that the service was person-centred.
• Staff empowered clients to have a voice by offering a variety of opportunities to give feedback on the service they received. The service commissioned an external organisation to conduct a non-biased consultation exercise in December 2018 with clients about how they viewed the service. Other mechanisms included weekly residents’ meetings, client surveys, questionnaires, social media pages, the provider’s website and complaints, comments and suggestions boxes.
• Carers and families were offered bespoke support and signposted to peer led carers groups within the community and referrals were made to other organisations in the local area that provided specialist support and carer’s assessments.
• Clients had access to education and work opportunities. The treatment programme provided clients with lifelong learning credits and ambassadors could obtain a level two accredited qualification in peer mentoring and employment skills. The service ran a job club which offered clients work placements and assistance with writing job applications and curriculum vitae.
• The service ensured clients’ emotional needs were met by working in partnership with specialist organisations. This included training and education for clients affected by historical abuse and domestic violence.

• Staff actively planned for patients’ discharge. The service had a sustainable homes lead who ensured clients had suitable accommodation to go to following discharge from the service. Staff offered clients an aftercare service which included help with housing and employment, onsite support at colleges and university and other initiatives to encourage abstinence from alcohol or illicit drugs.

• The service proactively enabled clients to be exposed to areas of life that involved celebration and engagement with other people to combat social isolation. Examples included seasonal celebrations at a local alcohol-free bar, hosting Halloween and Christmas parties and allowing clients to plan and deliver summer holiday events.

• The provider used innovative ways to engage with members of the public to raise awareness of the service’s work and issues faced by people affected by drug and alcohol addictions. This included taking a coffee bike into the community. Members of the public drank coffee which was a blend designed by the recovery community whilst staff and clients shared their experiences and knowledge of issues about alcohol and drug addictions.

• The service had given clients the opportunity to become involved in a Royal College of Arts project which allowed them to express their hopes, dreams and how they felt about their addictions by working in partnership with an art student who was completing their final assignment.

• The provider was committed to promoting a culture of openness and transparency within the service and had appointed its own freedom to speak up guardian to help and support staff in raising concerns about the service and wider organisation and there were plans to extend the role to supporting clients.

• The provider’s governance systems were robust and ensured the service delivered safe and effective care and treatment. The provider had purchased an online system to enable the service to rapidly access evidence required to demonstrate good practice and assist with the overall governance of the service’s processes.

• There were consistently high levels of constructive engagement with staff, the people who used the service and external stakeholders. Leaders invited clients’ representatives to its meetings with Healthwatch to discuss ideas for improving the service, performance and service related themes. The service held regular multidisciplinary meetings which were attended by staff from the two partner organisations within Middlesbrough Recovering Together.

• Staff felt proud, respected and accepted, there was a strong sense of teamwork and collaboration, room to grow and develop and that there was a culture of honesty, openness and transparency within the service.

• There were sufficient numbers of trained, experienced and skilled staff to deliver safe care and treatment. Staff sickness absences were low and lessons learned from incidents, complaints and safeguarding issues were used to improve practice. Staff undertook risk assessments of all clients and put plans in place to mitigate risks identified.

• The service environment was clean, tidy and well-maintained, staff adhered to infection control and health and safety procedures and there was a fully equipped clinic room.

However:

• Staff we spoke with said they did not always find it easy to quickly access client information when using the electronic care records system.

• The layout of the building meant that accommodation for male and female clients could not be kept on separate floors and that some clients of the same gender had to share rooms. However, the multidisciplinary team undertook risk assessments when clients of mixed genders were placed on the same floor and waking night staff monitored movements within the building.

Updated 4 April 2019

See overall summary