Bluebird Care Camden & Hampstead

Bluebird Care Camden and Hampstead is a domiciliary care service providing care and support to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection the service was providing personal care to 63 people. This included people receiving a live-in care service.

The service works predominantly with older people living with age related conditions such as dementia. They also provide care and support to younger people with, for example, physical and sensory impairments, learning disabilities and mental health needs as required.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Staff supported people with personal care, access to the local community, shopping and preparing meals. Some people received 24-hour care to enable them to remain safely in their own homes. The care and support provided was personalised to people’s individual needs.

Staff had an excellent understanding of the care and support people required and provided this with in ways that were responsive to their needs and preferences. People's care and support had been planned and developed in partnership with them. People were regularly consulted about their views of the service. People and family members confirmed that they were happy with the care and support they received. Staff spoke positively about the people they supported. They described how they ensured that people’s dignity and privacy was maintained.

The provider and registered manager were passionate about the importance of ensuring that the service was flexible and responsive to people’s needs. People’s records showed that they had been supported to remain at home following interventions from the service in liaison with local health and social care professionals. The service had introduced an unobtrusive monitoring system. This had been used to reduce risks in relation to a person leaving their home at night and to reduce falls

There was an open, honest, caring and positive culture across the service and staff demonstrated a high value base. The registered manager and provider were supported by a team of exceptionally motivated and dedicated service managers and team leaders. The provider had invested in a range of staff benefits and rewards and had organised social and wellbeing events for staff. These were designed to increase motivation and staff told us that they appreciated this.

People consistently gave examples of the registered manager and provider and staff team as kind and caring people who maintained contact with them and responded to concerns. People and their family members told us that they would recommend the service to others.

The provider had invested in resources to ensure that added value was provided to meet people’s needs. For example, a staff member had been trained to provide health checks to people. This had resulted in prompt referrals to GPs where concerns had been identified. The introduction of a movement monitoring system had resulted in a reduction in risks to people.

The service worked with people holistically and staff understood the importance of ensuring that people were supported to maintain their interests and independence. People’s care plans included information about their preferences and interests along with guidance for staff on engaging with people to meet these. People and, where appropriate, their representatives were involved in decisions made about their care.

Systems, processes and practices were embedded to safeguard people from abuse and risk of harm. Staff understood their responsibilities in protecting people and the provider had taken immediate action to report concerns and suspicions about potential harm or abuse. Good practice guidance had been followed to keep people safe. Up to date risk assessments were in place to support people to take positive risks and remain safe.

Staffing levels were continuously reviewed to ensure there were enough staff to provide flexible and responsive care and support. Staff received regular training and supervision to ensure that they were skilled in providing care and support to people. Staff told us that they were encouraged to take qualifications in health and social care and to progress within the organisation.

Medicines were managed safely to ensure people received them safely and in accordance with their health needs and the prescriber's instructions.

Staff liaised with other health and social care professionals to ensure people's needs were safely and effectively met. The provider was actively engaged with local community-based services to ensure that people had access to additional support and up to date information where required.

The registered manager had ensured that regular monitoring of the quality of people’s care and support had taken place. The provider had introduced a new electronic monitoring system which enabled them to identify immediately if staff were late or had failed to complete people’s care records. Any failures were immediately addressed with the staff member concerned.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Outstanding. (published 23 March 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Bluebird Care Camden & Hampstead is a domiciliary care agency based in North London which provides home based care for elderly people, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of the inspection there were 33 people using the service.

There was a registered manager at the service. 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.

The registered provider and registered manager continually strived to improve the service and implemented an action plan which identified areas for improvement and actions were put in place accordingly. The registered provider had developed strong links with the local community. They worked alongside other social care organisations to promote social care causes and make improvements.

People were extremely satisfied with the quality of the service they received and praised the caring and compassionate nature of the care staff. The provider supported staff to understand the emotional and social needs of people living with dementia and was actively involved in achieving positive local outcomes to improve the quality of life for people living with dementia.

People, relatives and particularly staff praised the supportive and responsive management structure in place at the service. The registered manager and registered provider enabled an open culture that encouraged learning and the discussion of ideas and improvements through regular staff meetings.

Robust quality assurance processes and procedures were in place to monitor the quality and safety of people's care. The delivery of care was recorded on the services electronic care records system which enabled immediate management oversight of the completion of care tasks on a real time basis. Any issues were promptly picked up by office staff and dealt with through the instant electronic feedback system which was confirmed in records seen.

People and relatives told us they felt safe. Procedures and policies relating to safeguarding people from harm were in place and accessible to staff. All staff had completed training in safeguarding adults and demonstrated an understanding of the different types of abuse to look out for and how to raise safeguarding concerns.

Detailed risk assessments were in place for people using the service and were reviewed and updated regularly. Risk assessments explained the signs to look for when presented with a possible risk and the least restrictive ways of mitigating the risk based on the individual needs of the person.

Medicines were managed safely and effectively and there were regular medication audits in place. Staff had completed medication training and the service had a clear medication policy in place which was accessible to staff.

The provider employed sufficient skilled and experienced staff to meet people's needs. We saw evidence of a comprehensive staff induction and on-going training programme. Staff were recruited with necessary pre-employment checks carried out. Staff received regular supervisions and annual appraisals.

Care plans were person centred and reflected what was important to the person. Care needs were regularly reviewed and updated to meet the changing needs of people who used the service.

People and their relatives told us they received kind and compassionate care and were treated with respect.

All staff had received training on the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and staff understood what to do if they had concerns around people's mental capacity.

People were supported to maintain good health and had access to healthcare services. People were supported to be independent and access the community, where possible.

There was a complaints procedure in place and people and relatives confirmed that they knew how to complain. The provider actively sought feedback from people and relatives and made positive changes as a result of people's views and suggestions.