Bluebird Care (Plymouth and South Hams)

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

We assessed a limited number of quality statements in the Well Led key question and found areas of good practice. The scores for these areas have been combined with scores based on the rating from the last inspection, which was outstanding. Though the assessment of these areas indicated areas of good practice since the last inspection, our rating for the key question remains outstanding. Since the previous inspection, the provider, registered manager, and staff team had maintained the quality of and grown the service. People, their relatives, staff, and external professionals were regularly asked for their views of the service provided. The service actively sought negative comments to ensure they were aware of areas where they could improve. The vast majority of responses from all groups including staff were positive. The service worked actively with the primary health system to obtain the best possible service for people that used the service. The service had worked in partnership with other professionals and organisations to share practice and develop models of care with an emphasis on continuous growth and improvement.

This service scored 96 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

We did not look at Shared direction and culture during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.

We did not look at Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.

We did not look at Freedom to speak up during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.

We did not look at Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.

A few months ago, a new registered manager came into post. There had been a short period of disruption in the management of the service in 2023 when there had been some issues with the management of the service. As a result of the good governance of the service, the issues that were occurring were resolved quickly and the service continued to deliver excellent quality support. People, their relatives, staff, and external professionals were regularly asked for their views of the service provided. The service was actively seeking negative comments to ensure they were aware of areas where they could improve. However, almost all responses from all groups, including staff, were positive.

All staff received monthly supervision from their line manager. In addition to monthly team meetings, the service had developed a staff council and was also introducing new staff focus groups to gain all staff views. Governance and oversight for the service was strong with consistent audit of every element of the services’ operation and delivery of care, using the mandated comprehensive Bluebird Franchise audit system. The providers were involved in the day to day running of the service and had an active 5 year quality and business plan. Development to meet these targets was reviewed frequently to ensure the service remained on its development trajectory.

People who used the service, their relatives, and staff, were fully surveyed twice each year asking for their views of the service provided. People fed back in the latest Customer Survey carried out in December 2023 that they were happy with the service. Comments included "I’m very happy – 10 stars to all of the Bluebirds”, they are "highly organised, efficient, warm and kind”, and the staff are "polite and respectful”. People who used the service and their relatives praised the care delivered, the staff, and the management team.

The service primarily works with healthcare professionals as the service is largely delivering privately to customers rather than having packages of care commissioned by a Local Authority. Healthcare professionals used informal and structured direct phone contact from the provider, to tell the service about the quality of their service. They said they had strong and positive relationships with the service, which supported the service to advocate, and take actions, on behalf of people that use their service. For example, the service had actively intervened with GP practices to obtain appointments, reviews of medication and to obtain repeat prescriptions. The service was actively in contact and working with, all parts of the Primary care NHS health system. They had also developed and intend to continue developing their relationships with voluntary sector organisations in the area, to share practice with an emphasis on continuously improving the quality of their service.

External professionals were surveyed by the provider monthly and their feedback had been continuously positive. Almost all responses from all groups, including staff, were positive. The service had actively sought through their feedback systems to identify where things could be improved. The service worked in partnership and collaborated for improvement with Partners. The service had taken part in projects to support the community. Recently the service had hired the ‘dementia bus’ for 2 days and had it parked outside a major supermarket in Plymouth. This ‘bus’ gave the general public, professionals and care staff, the opportunity to have an immersive experience of what it is like for a person experiencing dementia. The opportunity to use this ‘bus’ while it was hired by the service was offered widely in the community.

The service actively looked for feedback from anyone who had come into contact with the service by asking them to leave a review on a named website. At present the service has a 96% satisfaction rate on this site.

We did not look at Learning, improvement and innovation during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.