Bluebird Care (Worcester & Wychavon)

Updated 27 October 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit to ensure staff were available for us to speak with. Inspection site visit activity started on 27 June 2018 and ended on 28 June 2018. The inspection team consisted of one inspector and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service who spoke with people and their relative by telephone.

We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. As part of the inspection we reviewed information we held about the service including statutory notifications that had been submitted. Statutory notifications include information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law.

During the inspection, we spoke with six people who used the service and five relatives. We also spoke with four care staff. In the office we spoke with five staff, the registered manager and the provider all of which also provided care to people.

We reviewed the risk assessments and plans of care for three people and looked at their medicine records. We also looked at audits for reviewing people’s care, their home environment and maintenance checks, complaints records, an overview of the last two months incident and accident audits, staff dependency tool, care staff rotas, staff meeting minutes, and four staff recruitment files.

Updated 27 October 2018

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 27 June 2018. At our last inspection of the service was carried out in January 2016. At that inspection we rated the service overall Good. At this inspection the service remained rated as Good overall because they continued to focus on individual needs of the people using the service. The service ensured that everyone received, high quality, care regardless of diagnosis, age, ethnic background, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or social circumstance.

Bluebird Care UK is a national franchise. A franchise is when a franchisee (the provider) has bought the right to sell a specific company's (the franchisor's) products in a particular area using the company's name. The franchise operates over two hundred locations across the United Kingdom.

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides support for people living with dementia, older people, physical disabilities care and sensory impairment. At the time of our inspection 67 people were receiving support from the service.

The service provides two main types of support to people in the community. The first one is for short visits to provide personal care or domestic support. The second service is to provide a 24-hour package of care with a core staff team supporting a person in their own home.

There was a registered manager in place at the time of our inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are 'registered persons'. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People’s care was delivered safely. Care staff protected people from the risk of potential abuse and understood the potential signs to report. People’s safety had been assessed and reviewed and their individual risks recorded. The plans showed care staff the steps needed to reduce a person's risks and prevent risk of harm or injury. People who had support with their medicines had them administered when needed, by staff that were trained and competent to do so.

The provider offered training linked to people’s needs and care staff were knowledgeable about their roles and responsibilities. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People told us they arranged their own healthcare appointments and that care staff were helpful in providing reminders of appointments.

People received care in their home from care staff they knew very well and had formed positive relationships with. Staff had taken the time and developed respectful relationships with people and were very kind and caring in their approach which was reflected in people’s feedback on their care.

People were involved about planning and changing their care which had been recorded in their care plans. The management team regularly reviewing these alongside people’s requests and were updated when needed. People knew how to contact the office and were confident to in how to make a complaint should they wish to.

The registered manager told us they kept their knowledge current and provided staff with input and direction about the levels of care they expected with regular meetings and supervisions. The management team monitored the quality of the care that people received, that included reviewing records and observing staff practices.

The provider, registered managers and staff put people at the forefront of everything they did. The provider created an ethos and culture of individualised and person-centred care. The care staff knew the importance of developing good working relationships with the people they looked after and ensured they provided person centred care based on their specific needs. The staff ensured people were always treated with kindness and were listened to. The feedback we received from people being supported, their relatives and care staff was positive.

Care staff supported people and were encouraged by the provider to do so. People’s privacy and dignity was continually supported to ensure they were as independent as possible in all aspects of their lives. People’s care needs were attended to at times they asked for in a gentle and unhurried way by consistent care staff they knew very well. People received care that that supported their independence and were able to direct staff on each call to receive a personalised service.

The provider set high expectations for the service and had taken extra care to ensure that their systems to monitor the quality and safety of the service demonstrated the good care people received. The provider acted on people’s views and regularly consulted with them about how to improve and all staff were respectful of people’s human rights. People experiences of their care were important and valued by a caring leadership team which promoted an open culture.

The registered manager and the provider had clear visions, values about how they delivered good quality care to people, which were known and demonstrated by the whole staff team. This showed in the way they spoke about people. The management team felt it was important that they were approachable and visible which helped them monitor and maintain a service which people and relatives liked. The management supported and listened to staff at all levels to improve the quality of service and acted on them about how to improve. People reflected this and were confident to make requests through the day with staff. The registered manager and provider took time to visit people to ensure the care delivered was as expected.