Bluebird Care Bournemouth & Poole

Updated 12 August 2023

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 team consisted of 2 inspectors and an Expert by Experience, who made telephone calls to people. 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 homes.

Registered manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period of notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection started on 23 May 2023 and ended on 30 May 2023. We visited the office location on 23,24 and 30 May 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed the information we held about this service during the planning for this inspection. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan for our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 5 people who used the service and 4 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 5 members of staff including the nominated individual, the registered manager, the deputy manager, the recruitment and training lead and care staff. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We received written feedback from a further 6 care staff and 1 health and social care professional.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 4 people’s support and care plans, daily records, and 4 people’s medicine administration records.

We also looked at a range of records relating to the management and monitoring of the service. These included staffing rotas, 3 staff recruitment and supervision records, staff training records, staff spot check observation records and a range of the providers quality assurance records, audits, policies and procedures.

Updated 12 August 2023

About the service

Bluebird Care Bournemouth & Poole is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care and support to people in their own homes and flats. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. At the time of this inspection 50 people were receiving the regulated activity of personal care from the service. 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.

The service provides care and support to both older people, some of whom have a diagnosis of dementia and people with a learning disability and autistic people.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

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

Right Support

People were given maximum choice, control and independence with how their care and support was delivered. People were supported to make choices about their daily lives and do things they enjoyed. There were enough staff to meet the needs of the service. Robust recruitment processes were in place to ensure staff had the necessary checks before starting work with the service. People were protected from avoidable harm by a staff team who knew how to raise safeguarding concerns both within the service and outside. Staff told us they were confident their concerns would be acted upon by the management team.

Staff knew people well and supported and encouraged people to live their best lives. Staff understood the importance of social inclusion and supported people to maintain and develop relationships that were important to them and to enjoy visits out to places they enjoyed.

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

Right care:

The service provided highly individualised care that provided people with the flexibility, choice and continuity of care. This led to major improvements in their well-being and safety. The provider took a proactive and highly responsive approach to understanding the needs and preferences of different people to ensure people were supported in ways that were specific to them and ensured the best levels of care and support. People’s individual needs and preferences were central to the delivery of tailored services.

The provider showed innovation in ensuring people’s independence was encouraged and their health, well-being and moral were improved or maintained.

Care promoted people’s dignity, privacy and human rights. Support plans provided guidance for staff which ensured people received consistent, care and support. Staff were knowledgeable regarding how people preferred to be supported and understood people’s individual behaviours and which events may trigger anxiety.

People received their medicines as prescribed. Medicines management within the service was monitored and staff had received training including assessment of their competency. Care staff had instant access to information about people's medicines and care needs on their mobile phones. This ensured care staff were provided with accurate, up to date information in order to support and administer medicines to people.

People were protected from the risk of avoidable infection. Staff had received training in infection prevention and control. Staff had access to plentiful supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) and knew how to use it appropriately. The providers infection and prevention control policy and guidance were in line with government and best practice guidance.

Accidents and incidents were recorded, analysed for themes and trends and lessons learned were discussed with staff to ensure a process of continual improvement. There was a range of governance systems in place which supported oversight of the service. Leadership was visible, open and approachable and staff knew their roles and responsibilities. A range of audits supported quality assurance.

Right culture:

The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of management and care staff ensured people using the service led confident, inclusive and empowered lives. The management team demonstrated high levels of passion and commitment to ensuring the service provided the best care and support to both people and staff. A strong emphasis was placed on developing staff to ensure continual learning and development was key throughout the service. Staff ensured people received their support in ways they wished and were able to make their own choices regarding how they lived their daily lives.

The registered manager understood their statutory responsibilities and had made notifications to CQC as required by law. Staff felt appreciated by the service, and told us about the varied schemes, awards and incentives the service provided to show their thanks and make them feel valued. The provider and management team were passionate about their team and supporting their staff to ensure people received the best care possible. Staff felt involved and regular team meetings ensured all staff were kept fully informed regarding any changes with people’s care or in the running of the service.

Bluebird Care Bournemouth & Poole worked closely with external health and social care professionals. The service was working hard to involve themselves in the local community to provide a level of support and guidance to people in the wider community.

The service actively sought feedback on the service it provided, and results of an annual survey were positive. The provider had a large range of processes for people, relatives and staff to feedback their views on how the service was run. These were analysed by the management team and the results fedback to all on a regular basis. People told us the management team of Bluebird Care Bournemouth & Poole were approachable, effective, supportive and fully available.

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 at the previous premises was good published on 15 June 2018.

Why we inspected

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

Follow up

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