Bluebird Care (Wiltshire South)

Updated 18 June 2022

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 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.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post. The manager had started the application process to register.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 19 April 2022 and ended on 23 April 2022. We visited the location’s office on 19 May 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with five people who use the service and five relatives. We spoke with eight members of staff including care staff, a care co-ordinator, a care supervisor, team leaders and the manager.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people's care records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed. We sought feedback from one professional.

Updated 18 June 2022

About the service

Bluebird Care (Wiltshire South) is a domiciliary care service, providing personal care to people living in Salisbury and the surrounding areas. At the time of our inspection there were 25 people using the service.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.

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

Incidents and accidents were reported. However, the electronic reporting system in use did not provide clear oversight from a management perspective. Instead, the service relied on staff verbally reporting incidents as well as formally documenting them. The manager informed us the reporting and analysis process was being reviewed to rectify this. People told us they felt safe using the service. People were cared for by staff who knew how to keep them safe and protect them from avoidable harm. One person’s relative said, "I do feel that [name] is safe.” There were enough staff available to meet people's needs. People told us staff always arrived at the scheduled time, stayed for the specified period and no visits were missed. One person said, “Staff always stay for the allocated time and never leave before. They offer to do other things for me too.” People were supported to take their medicines safely.

People's needs were assessed, and care plans were in place. People were cared for by staff who had been trained to carry out their roles and who were knowledgeable about the support people needed. 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.

People told us they were cared for by kind and compassionate staff. Staff understood the need to respect people's privacy and dignity. Comments from people included, “They [staff] are all very friendly and we have a good rapport. There is lots of trust and they are very professional” and, “I cannot fault them, they have been my life saver. They came recommended four years ago and I have since recommended them to my friends”. One staff member said, “I see the clients as one of the family. I like to feel as though I'm helping, not intruding.”

Staff were knowledgeable about people's support needs as well as people's preferences for how they wanted to be cared for. Comments included, "I am happy with the care I get from Bluebird. I know them, they are always on time and they will do whatever I need” and, “The staff always make sure that I have everything I need. I think that is very nice and it proves that they do what they say.” There was a complaints procedure in place and people knew how to complain if they needed to. No complaints had been received.

Quality assurance processes were in place. There was a quality improvement plan in place. Regular audits of all aspects of the service were being undertaken. Positive feedback was received from people. Comments included, “I like my Bluebird people, I am very satisfied” and, “Without Bluebird and the care we receive from them, myself and my family would not be able to have weekends away or go on holiday.”

We have made a recommendation that the service reviews the management and oversight of incidents and accidents to ensure they are robust.

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 under the previous provider was Good published on 07 December 2017.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Bluebird Care Wiltshire South on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.