Bluebird Care (Brighton & Hove)

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

Staff took appropriate action following accidents and incidents to ensure people’s safety and this was recorded. Staff had a good awareness of safeguarding and could identify the different types of abuse and knew what to do if they had any concerns about people’s safety.

Records demonstrated staff were recruited in line with safe practice, and appropriate checks undertaken to ensure that potential staff were safe to work within the care sector.

The registered manager and staff completed detailed risk assessments for both people living in their own homes and staff to ensure their safety. The registered manager had a full record of COVID-19 test results for staff. The registered manager also worked closely with other stakeholders, such as the Local Authority and Public Health England. Staff were wearing appropriate PPE in-line with government guidelines. Staff had completed infection prevention and control (IPC) training. The registered manager had undertaken additional IPC training to support staff with best practice.

Why we inspected

We undertook this targeted inspection to check on a specific concern we had about safeguarding and recruitment practices. The overall rating for the service has not changed following this targeted inspection and remains Good.

CQC have introduced targeted inspections to follow up on Warning Notices or to check specific concerns. They do not look at an entire key question, only the part of the key question we are specifically concerned about. Targeted inspections do not change the rating from the previous inspection. This is because they do not assess all areas of a key question.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

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

Bluebird Care Brighton and Hove is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes in the community. On the day of the inspection, the service was supporting 49 people with a range of health and social care needs, such as a physical disability, sensory impairment or people living with dementia. Support was tailored according to people’s assessed needs within the context of people’s individual preferences and lifestyles to help people to live and maintain independent lives and remain in their homes. Not everyone using Bluebird Care Brighton and Hove receives the 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.

People’s experience of using this service:

We found areas of outstanding practice in the effectiveness of the care provided by Bluebird Care Brighton and Hove. The use of pioneering technology used in a person centred way ensured that people received outstandingly effective care that met their current and changing needs.

The provider had developed innovative and effective systems that promoted people’s health, improved their independence and enabled them to live in their own home for as long as possible.

People were happy with the care they received, felt relaxed with staff and told us they were treated with kindness. They said they felt safe and well supported. One person told us, “I’m very happy with them. They are there when I need them, they’ve never let me down”.

People’s independence was promoted and told us their needs were met. They told us that they had a regular team of care staff who arrived on time and knew them well. A relative told us, “[My relative] has improved so much since he has been having Bluebird Care. The carers have opened up a whole new world to him, it’s like he has a new family. They are very proactive, and they know exactly what to do, I’m so pleased with them”.

Sufficient staff were available to ensure people's wellbeing and safety was protected. A robust recruitment and selection process was also in place.

People felt they were offered choice in the way their care was delivered and that they had no concerns around their dignity and privacy in their own homes being respected. One person told us, “I can’t fault them, they make me very comfortable”.

Staff had received training considered essential by the provider and feedback from people indicated that they knew the best way to care for people in line with their needs and preferences. 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.

The provider had systems of quality assurance to measure and monitor the standard of the service and drive improvement. These systems also supported people to stay safe by assessing and mitigating risks, ensuring that people were cared for in a person-centred way and that the provider learned from any mistakes.

People told us they thought the service was well managed and they received high quality care that met their needs and improved their wellbeing from dedicated and enthusiastic staff. One person told us, “I’m very happy, I wouldn’t change them and I’d recommend them to others”.

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 was Good (published 2 June 2017). Since this rating was awarded, the service has moved premises and re-registered. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the date of registration.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the intelligence we receive about this service and plan to inspect in line with our re-inspection schedule for those services rated Good. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.