Enter and view: Substance misuse and alcohol services summary report

Healthwatch Derbyshire carried out an enter and view visit as a follow up to the concerns raised in their July 2016 report 'Substance Misuse: Experiences of individuals living with substance misuse accessing health and social care services in Derbyshire.'.

This report generated 19 subsequent recommendations for consideration across a range of agencies and services including the treatment services. The main provider at the time, DHcFT concurred with the issues of concern raised and had already made plans to reconfigure the services in order to make it more effective and efficient.

There were 8 visits making up this report to four treatment centres at Ilkeston, Chesterfield, Ripley and Swadlincote. These treatment centres cover substance misuse and alcohol dependency and include outreach services. For each centre, there was an announced visit and a 'semi announced' visit.

Findings and themes observed by the enter and view representatives included:

 The buildings used by the treatment centres all, to varying degrees, need further attention to design, disability access, adequacy of facilities, furnishing and general décor

 Clients were complimentary about the support provided by key workers

 In the main, appointment systems appeared to work satisfactorily for most clients but some issues across sites were raised as concerns

 Clients felt comfortable about raising concerns but were not always aware of the procedure for doing so

Healthwatch Derbyshire made 18 recommendations in the report, including:

 To ensure that new clients (and established ones where appropriate) are provided with introductory welcome/information packs including clear instructions on how to locate and recognise the treatment centre building

 To confirm that suitable strategies for personal safety for all staff are in place across all sites

 To ensure that all clients with literacy challenges have been adequately identified and that written materials are provided in appropriate formats to meet their needs with particular reference to those with dyslexia and/or visual impairments

 To review methods and systems of supporting alcohol dependent clients in order to improve appointment attendance

The report includes a detailed response from the service provider.