Archived: Bluebird Care South Lincolnshire

Updated 24 August 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 checked 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.

This comprehensive inspection took place on 19 July 2018 and was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because we needed to be sure the registered manager would be available.

Before the inspection, we reviewed information we held about the service, which included notifications they had sent us. A notification is information about important events, which the provider is required to send us by law. We also contacted Local Authority commissioners of adult social care services and Healthwatch and asked them for their views of the service provided.

On this occasion, we had not asked the provider to send us a provider Information return (PIR). A PIR is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service. This includes what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. However, we offered the provider the opportunity to share information they felt was relevant.

The inspection team consisted of an 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. They carried out telephone interviews with people and relatives prior to the office-based inspection. They attempted to speak with 13 people. They managed to speak with four people who used the service and three relatives. The inspector visited the office location to see the registered manager, office staff and to speak with care staff.

During the inspection, we spoke with two members of the care staff, the registered manager, care coordinator, administrator and a director.

We looked at records relating to five people who used the service as well as staff recruitment records. We looked at other information related to the running of and the quality of the service. This included quality assurance audits, training information for care staff, staff duty rotas, meeting minutes and arrangements for managing complaints.

We asked the registered manager to send us copies of various policies and procedures after the inspection. They did this within the requested timeframe.

Updated 24 August 2018

We carried out an announced inspection of the service on 19 July 2018. Bluebird Care South Lincolnshire is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. It currently provides a service to older adults. Not everyone using Bluebird Care South Lincolnshire receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also take into account any wider social care provided.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. 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.

At the time of the inspection, 16 people received some element of support with their personal care. This is the service’s first inspection under its current registration.

People felt safe when supported by staff. People were protected from avoidable harm. People received support from a consistent team of staff who arrived on time for each call. Robust staff recruitment procedures were in place. People’s medicines were managed safely. Staff understood how to reduce the risk of the spread of infection. The provider had processes in place to investigate accidents and incidents and to learn from mistakes. However, the paperwork used to record these incidents required improving by always recording that the registered manager had carried out a review.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice. However, some improvements were required to ensure all people’s rights under the Mental Capacity Act (2005) were respected.

People’s care was provided in line with current legislation and best practice guidelines. People felt staff understood how to support them. Staff were well trained; felt supported and understood people’s needs. Staff performance was regularly monitored. People were supported with their meals where needed. Information was available to support staff with caring for people. Other health and social care agencies were involved where further support was needed for people.

People liked the staff and found them to kind and caring. Relatives felt assured that staff treated their family members with respect, dignity and compassion. People’s independence was encouraged and people were able to contribute to decisions about their care.

People were assessed before joining the service to ensure their needs could be met. People’s care records were person centred and staff provided them with support in the way they wanted. People were supported with following their hobbies and interests. People felt care staff responded effectively to complaints or concerns raised. People’s diverse needs were discussed with them and respected. Efforts had been made to discuss end of life care with people, however records relating to this element of care required more detail.

The registered manager was well liked and respected by all. They understood the requirements of their role and did so in line with their registration with the CQC. They ensured all notifiable incidents were reported to the CQC. High quality staff performance was rewarded. People and staff were given the opportunity comment on how the service could be developed and improved. Auditing processes were in place. The provider supported the registered manager to carry out their role effectively and held them to account. The provider was continually looking for innovative ways to improve the quality of the service people received. The service had developed positive links with the local community that benefitted the people who used the service.