Haringey Alcohol Service

Haringey Alcohol Service provides standalone alcohol treatment and support for adults in the London Borough of Haringey. They offer groups, key working sessions, online recovery tools, counselling and outreach support for community detoxification and rehabilitation.

Our rating of this location was good because:

• The service provided safe care. The premises where clients were seen were safe and clean. The number of clients on the caseload of the teams, and of individual members of staff, was not too high to prevent staff from giving each client the time they needed. Staff 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 audit to evaluate the quality of care they provided.

• The teams included or had access to the full range of specialists required to meet the needs of clients under their care. Managers ensured that these staff received 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.

• All clients that we spoke with were happy with the level of service they were receiving and felt well supported by staff.

• The service was easy to access. Staff planned and managed discharge well and signposted people to alternative pathways if they could not meet their needs.

• The service was well led, and the governance processes mostly ensured that it ran smoothly.

However:

• The nursing assessment in two clients’ care and treatment records failed to mention significant physical health conditions although these were included in both clients’ referral information and the initial risk assessment. This meant there was a risk of incorrect care and treatment, although the manager said that staff looked at all information before proceeding.

• The service’s grab bag which included first aid items, emergency medicines and a defibrillator was not easily accessible.