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.
The provider was given 48 hours notice of our intention to inspect the service. This is in line with our current methodology for inspecting domiciliary care agencies.
Bluebird Care provides domiciliary care services to people who live in their own home. At the time of our inspection there were 47 people with a variety of care needs, including people with physical disabilities and mental health needs, using the service.
The service had a registered manager. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
Everyone we spoke with was complimentary about the service. People praised the care staff and valued having regular care staff that enabled them to build caring relationships. People spoke positively about the management of the service.
There was a positive caring culture, promoted by the management team. Staff were passionate about providing high quality care and clearly enjoyed their work. Staff felt supported by the management team, describing them as open and approachable.
Staff were knowledgeable about the people they supported and had access to development opportunities to improve their skills. Staff received specific training where it was required to support individual needs.
People's needs were assessed and where any risks were identified, management plans were in place. People were supported in a way that recognised their rights to take risks.
There were systems in place to enable the service to gather feedback from people. Quality assurance systems were in place to enable the service to identify areas for improvement.
We have made a recommendation about the Mental Capacity Act.