The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated Spectrum’s clinical provision as “Good” in County Durham Drug and Alcohol Service.
During an inspection of Spectrum’s clinical services in February, inspectors assessed the service against the five key criteria, ensuring that it was:
- Safe
- Effective
- Caring
- Responsive
- Well-Led
Spectrum’s clinical service was rated “Good” across 4 of the 5 CQC standards and “Outstanding” in the Care category.
In their report, CQC inspectors found that “staff treated clients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity and understood their individual needs. People thought that staff went the extra mile and that their care and support exceeded their expectations.”
Outstanding care 
The report also found that staff in the Durham service provided care that was informed by best-practice guidelines and that clinicians worked well with partner organisations to support service users.
Some areas of the report recognised outstanding practice from Spectrum. “Staff within the service were proactive in recognising and addressing issues facing clients within the community. They recognised the financial pressures clients were under and offered free sanitary items to combat period poverty. The service had also recently invested in a rapid Hepatitis C testing machine to enable staff to give results to clients within 45 minutes, which allowed staff to refer the client for treatment the same day.”
Judith Durkin, Clinical Lead for the service, said, “We are delighted with the results of the CQC inspection, particularly the very positive feedback which was gathered through interviews with our service users. This report recognises not only Spectrum’s commitment to clinical care but our drive to make a difference in our communities.”
Get in touch
County Durham Drug and Alcohol Service is a partnership service commissioned by Durham County Council; it operates from four Recovery Centres across the region. Anyone struggling with drugs or alcohol can contact the service using their online referral form or call the clinic on 03000 266 666.
