Archived: Bluebird Care (Bournemouth & Poole)

Updated 15 June 2018

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, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

The inspection took place on 6, 10 and 11 April 2018, with visits on 10 April 2018 to people who use the service and phone calls to additional people who use the service on 11 April 2018. We told the service two days before our visit that we would be coming to ensure the people we needed to talk to would be available. This inspection was conducted by one Care Quality Commission inspector.

Before the inspection the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed the information included in the PIR along with information we held about the service; this included incidents they had notified us about. We also looked at the information we had received from notifications made to us by the service. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to tell us about by law. Additionally, we contacted four Health Care professionals to obtain their views of the service.

During the inspection we visited four people in their homes and spoke with another six people on the telephone who used the service. We spoke with five members of office staff which included a director, the registered manager and an additional four members of care staff. We checked four people’s care and medicine records in the office and with their permission, the records kept in their home when we visited them. We also saw records about how the service was managed. These included three staff recruitment and monitoring records, staff rotas, training records, audits and quality assurance records as well as a range of the provider’s policies and procedures.

The service had not previously been inspected.

Updated 15 June 2018

Bluebird Care ( Bournemouth) is a domiciliary care agency. It provides care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. The inspection took place on 6, 10 and 11 April 2018 and was announced. We gave the provider two working days’ notice to ensure people and staff we needed to speak with were available.

Bluebird Care UK is a national franchise. A franchise is when a franchisee (the provider) has bought the right to sell a specific company's (the franchisor's) products in a particular area using the company's name. At the time of the inspection visit Bluebird Care (Bournemouth) provided care and support for up to 54 people living in their own homes. The majority of the care packages were privately funded.

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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People gave positive views and were very satisfied with the quality of service they received from Bluebird Care (Bournemouth). People told us, “I have found them to be excellent” and “Overall they are very, very good.” We received positive written feedback from health care professionals that were involved with the service, comments included, “We have been very pleased with the service we get from Bluebird Care (Bournemouth) and have no hesitation in recommending them to other services.”

The service actively engaged with the local community. The provider had established effective partnerships with partner agencies to provide supportive services to vulnerable people in the local area. This included an information service where they worked in collaboration with local independent agencies to provide practical information to vulnerable people who may be lonely or need specific advice and guidance to maintain their health and well being. Additionally, they had implemented a large variety of events, incentives and schemes to benefit a range of people and help them improve their health and well being. People received birthday cards and gifts such as flowers or chocolates on their birthdays or special anniversaries. During the Christmas period cards and gifts were delivered to people and the provider encouraged and supported people to attend any social or festive events that they had organised, for example the Christmas party and afternoon tea parties they ran.

Staff spoke knowledgeably about maintaining people’s safety and knew how to identify and raise concerns regarding any potential abuse. Every person we spoke with told us they felt safe with all the care staff employed by Bluebird Care Bournemouth. They said care staff treated them with respect, maintained their dignity and were friendly, kind and gentle when supporting them.

The provider was committed to ensuring staff felt appreciated, valued and positively motivated. Staff spoke passionately about their respective roles and told us they felt proud to work for Bluebird Care Bournemouth. Staff expressed complete confidence in the management team and said there was a clear, effective management structure that ensured they were listened to and fully supported in all areas of their roles. Staff told us they felt valued and appreciated and gave examples of thoughtful gestures they had received from various management team members. The provider ensured staff were given consistent support and guidance to enable them to provide high levels of care and support. Staff spoke of the ‘Open door’ culture that was available for them and said there was always someone they could speak to at any time, if they needed further advice and guidance. Staff were consistently well supported by a robust system of supervision, observations, spot checks and annual appraisals.

There was a strong organisational commitment to continuously improve the service people received. Systems were in place to ensure performance management processes were effective. The provider had a detailed action plan that was analysed, discussed and reviewed each week at a management level. This ensured a programme of continuous improvement was in place, monitored and sustained.

There was a robust recruitment and induction process for staff which ensured people were cared and supported by staff who had been safely recruited.

People told us staff were well trained and knowledgeable and delivered their care and support in the way they preferred. Quality training was delivered regularly and delivered by both in house trainers and through the use of independent training companies and electronic systems. Staff said they found the training useful and delivered well.

The provider had a strong focus on the use of technology and how its’ use could improve people’s experience of the care and support they received. The use of technology supported the provider to plan, deliver and monitor people’s care. This led to people receiving safe, effective and responsive care and support.

Medicines were managed safely. 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's rights were protected because staff and management had a good working knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People’s consent to their care had been sought in line with legislation and guidance.

People told us they received good, personalised care and support from a regular staff team who knew them well. People and staff received clear weekly rotas that showed which member of care staff was delivering the care and at what time. People and care staff told us visit times gave care staff enough time to complete their role and travel times between visits were realistic.

There were systems in place to protect people and the security of their home when they received their care and support. Care staff wore uniforms and carried identification to ensure people knew who they were.

People and staff told us communication within the company was good. Staff spoke positively of the different communication systems in place which they found, “Very useful.” People confirmed they were kept informed if care staff were running a little late. One person told us, “They are rarely late, but if they are they call me straight away.”

There were robust quality assurance systems and a range of policies and procedures to enable people to receive safe, effective care and support in their own homes. People’s views on the service were regularly sought. These views were then reviewed and analysed to monitor the level of service provided and drive forward improvement.

People knew how and who to complain to if they needed to. The provider had a complaints policy which gave people clear guidance and timescales to follow if they needed to complain. Complaints had been investigated and acted upon in accordance with the providers’ complaints policy.