Archived: Bluebird Care Durham North

Bluebird Care Durham North is a new service registered to provide support to people living in their own homes in County Durham. The service is registered to provide personal care to both younger and older people, including those living with sensory impairments, dementia, mental health issues, physical disabilities and a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder.

Not everyone using Bluebird Care Durham North receives a regulated activity. CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care.' This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also take into account any wider social care provided. On the day of our inspection Bluebird Care Durham North were supporting eight people with the regulated activity of 'personal care.'

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

People and relatives spoke positively about Bluebird Care Durham North. People felt safe with the staff who supported them. They received good care from a consistent staff team who arrived on time, were professional and communicated effectively. Calls lasted for the correct duration.

Recruitment procedures were mostly safe and effective, but some background checks had not been documented thoroughly. We have made a recommendation around recruitment records.

Systems to monitor the quality of care and support provided were mostly effective. We have made a recommendation around the auditing of medicines.

People were supported by kind and caring staff. People and relatives told us they were treated with respect and dignity. Staff supported people in a compassionate manner and encouraged people's independence.

Risks were identified and managed appropriately. There were enough staff to meet people's needs and people were protected from the risk of abuse. Staff had been trained in infection prevention and control and used personal protective equipment to help keep people safe.

Staff had the skills and knowledge to carry out their role effectively. Staff training in relevant areas was up to date.

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.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of right support, right care, right culture. People were provided with the right support which enabled them to make choices and promoted their independence. People received the right care that was provided in a person-centred way which promoted their dignity. The service provided the right culture for people in an environment where they were included and empowered by care staff.

Care records were person-centred and reflected people's current needs. People were involved in decisions about their care. Staff were aware of people's communication needs and how best to support them. People's concerns and complaints were dealt with promptly and consideration was given to how improvements were made.

People's views and opinions of the service were sought and acted on. People told us the service was well managed.

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 under the previous provider was good (published 3 February 2018). This was the first inspection of this service since it has been operated by Foveri Limited.

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.