PULSE is our ongoing survey, always open, so you can tell us honestly what’s working and what isn’t, whenever you want to. Each month, we sit down and go through everything that’s come in. In July 2026, that was 29 responses, our biggest response so far this year. Thank you to everyone who took the time.
How you’re finding the service
Of the 29 people who responded, 21 (72.4%) said yes, they’re satisfied with the service. 5 (17.2%) said maybe, and 3 (10.3%) said no. That’s still a clear majority telling us the service is working for them, though the proportion of maybe and no responses is a bit higher than we’ve seen in recent months, and we want to be upfront about that rather than only sharing the good news.
Importantly, none of the three “no” responses raised concerns about how staff treat people. They were about specific, practical gaps, mainly around contact and follow-up, and we’ve gone into that below.
What you value most
Staff support, empathy and dedication was by far the strongest theme this month, mentioned in comments across the board. You told us:
“Staff all so friendly and knowledgeable. They obviously care about their patients.”
Several of you also credited staff, by name in some cases, with genuinely changing your life. One comment stood out in particular:
“You have helped me keep a regular job by methadone. You really changed my life… but now for over 20 years I held a job down with no issue, so thank you.”
The real, practical difference treatment makes came through strongly too, especially around prescribing, detox and staying off opiates. One person described starting community detox:
“Community detox was easier than I thought. Great people (staff), lots of info and help, caring staff! I have had a lovely week. A great service.”
Feeling accepted, not judged was another clear theme:
“Never seem to be judged just helped.”
“Person centric, dignity is retained, very supportive.”
Some of you also spoke about knowing support is there when you need it, even if you don’t attend regularly, describing that ongoing contact as a helpful check-in point for your own awareness of your drinking. Acupuncture, Reiki and group work were also mentioned as genuinely helpful for mental health.
Where we need to do better
This month, one issue came through more clearly than any other: staying in touch.
Keyworker contact, consistency and follow-up was the clearest and most repeated concern. Some of you told us messages weren’t answered, one person hadn’t heard from the service in “a couple of weeks close to a month or two”, and others asked us to stop changing keyworkers so often, and to just be more consistent. One comment captured the gap between advice and actual support:
“Told what I need or should be doing, but no support in actually doing it. Don’t just tell people what to do, help them do it.”
Access to residential rehab was raised directly by one respondent, who is currently rough sleeping and asked to be helped into rehab. This echoes concerns raised earlier in the year about funding and access to residential detox, and we’re treating it as part of the same ongoing priority rather than a one-off.
Support for families and people affected by someone else’s addiction came up again this month too, a theme we’ve heard before and are continuing to develop options around.
A couple of smaller, practical points were also raised: discomfort during a buvidal injection, wanting a better sound system during acupuncture sessions, and a request for more support for parents managing childcare alongside their own treatment.
Who took part
This was our largest response of the year, 29 people. 17 identified as male and 9 as female, with a small number identifying in other ways or not stating. Ages spanned the full range, with the largest groups aged 35 to 44 (8 people) and 55 to 64 (7 people). 22 of you told us you have a disability, most commonly related to mental health. 14 people were in their first 6 months of treatment, and 10 had been with us for 2 years or more. Alcohol use (16) and drug use (12) remained the most common reasons for accessing support, with alcohol, heroin and prescription medications the most frequently named substances.
What we’re doing about it
- Strengthening keyworker continuity and follow-up. Reviewing how often keyworkers change, setting a clear expectation for how quickly messages are answered, and building in proactive check-ins so gaps of several weeks don’t go unnoticed.
- Turning advice into practical support. Making sure that when someone is told what they need to do, there’s a concrete next step and real support to help them do it.
- Escalating barriers to residential rehab and detox access. Capturing this alongside the existing detox funding action from earlier in the year, and making sure people in crisis or rough sleeping have a clear, fast route to ask for help.
- Expanding family and wider support options. Continuing to build on this recurring theme with options for people affected by someone else’s addiction.
- Addressing small practical and clinical comfort points. Feeding back the injection discomfort issue to the prescribing team, reviewing the acupuncture session environment, and exploring support for parents balancing childcare with treatment.
Thank you
PULSE only works because you’re honest with us, about what’s helping and what isn’t. This month’s biggest response of the year told us a consistent story: staff attitude and the real, practical impact of treatment continue to stand out, and where things haven’t gone well, it’s mostly come down to staying in touch. That’s a clear, fixable priority, and it’s what we’re focused on now.
PULSE is open all the time, so if you have more to say, you don’t need to wait for the next survey window. Speak to your keyworker, or any member of the team at Wirral Ways.
Last Updated on 16 September 2026