We rated Forward Leeds as good, because:

• The service had a strong, established leadership team who were appropriately qualified, passionate and knowledgeable.Leaders were visible and approachable, staff felt the managers were easy to talk to and operated an ‘open door policy’. There were robust governance systems in place and good access to information enabling leaders to monitor performance and drive improvement. The service was at the forefront of leading innovative work and developing new ways of working. They were identifying unmet needs within the communities and putting mechanisms in place to address them. Staff were motivated , and demonstrated a positive culture.

• Staff ensured the safe running of the service. The building environment was clean, well maintained and in line with best practice. The service had good safeguarding mechanisms in place to ensure the protection of vulnerable people. Staff ensured incidents were investigated and lessons learnt across the service.
• The service had an effective multidisciplinary team. Staff were skilled in their roles, had the opportunity to develop and were provided with support through regular supervision. All clients had care plans which were recovery orientated, as well as comprehensive risk management plans. Staff provided care and treatment in line with best practice and guidance. Staff ensured they supported clients improving their physical health by having regular reviews and offering blood borne virus testing.
• Staff demonstrated they were kind, compassionate and caring. Clients were at the centre of the work the service offered. Clients were consulted with during times of change and their feedback was used to improve services.
• Staff were responsive to the needs of the people who use the service. They took appropriate measures to ensure clients could access the service by addressing protected characteristics such as disabilities and ethnicity. The service met its target to assess clients within 21 days and was in line with the national target of successful discharges.

However:

• Although care plans were recovery focused, they did not always include all of the positive psychosocial interventions staff undertook.
• The service had not reviewed its disability access audit for the Kirkgate Hub in a timely manner.