Sands Also known as Stonepillow Recovery Service

Updated 16 September 2022

Sands Stonepillow Recovery Service provides second stage abstinence-based accommodation and support for adults aged 18 and over. Second stage means that clients have generally completed a detoxification programme prior to admission, and all clients are now abstinent from drugs and alcohol. The service is commissioned specifically for homeless people with substance misuse needs. The service was partly funded through the local authority public health budget for substance misuse and partly through clients’ own housing benefit.

The service could accommodate twelve clients. At the time of the inspection, one room was out of use because maintenance works were being completed, and one room was vacant.

Clients were accommodated at the service on excluded licenses, a type of housing tenure, and provided one to one and group support, and individualised timetables of activity to promote recovery.

The team comprised a registered manager, a team leader, two day time support workers and two night support workers.

The service had been open since 2006 and was registered with the Care Quality Commission in 2020.

Updated 16 September 2022

Sands Stonepillow Recovery Service is a 12-bed residential rehabilitation service for people with drug and/or alcohol problems. The service is designed for people who are abstinent from substances and require stabilisation, as well as for people who have completed a rehabilitation programme who request a second stage.

We rated this service as good because:

• The service provided safe care. The 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. Staff completed audits to evaluate the quality of care they provided.
• The team had access to the full range of specialists required to meet the needs of clients, with particularly good links to mental health and other substance misuse services. Managers ensured that these staff received training and supervision. Staff worked well together as a team and relevant services outside the organisation.
• Staff treated clients with compassion and kindness, and understood the individual needs of clients. They actively involved clients in their recovery planning.
• The service was easy to access. Staff planned and managed discharge well and had alternative pathways for people whose needs it could not meet. This included ensuring clients who had to leave the service early were supported to keep safe and avoid street homelessness or an overdose, or those whose mental health needs could not be safely met by the service.
• The service was well led and the governance processes ensured that its procedures ran smoothly. A strong audit and feedback cycle supported quality improvement based on client and stakeholder feedback.
• The service had a clear ethos of abstinence based recovery. This supported clients to participate in the ‘12 step fellowships’ whilst giving clients free choice to choose other types of support.

However;

• Some areas of the building required updating and repair. For example, a communal toilet on the group floor was functional but needed repairing. Carpets were generally worn throughout the building, some curtain rails needed replacing, and one bedroom was out of action due to significant damp. The registered manager had escalated these issues to the landlord of the building, and clearly understood the impact of repair issues on both health and safety and the comfort and wellbeing of clients.
• Staff did not receive an annual appraisal at the time of the inspection. However, plans were in place to introduce appraisals in the near future.

Updated 16 September 2022