Updated 18 April 2019
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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team:
The inspection was completed by one inspector and an expert by experience in the care of older people, who made telephone calls to people to gain their views about the service. 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:
Bluebird Care (Isle of Wight) is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care for people who require this due to old age, illness or disability. At the time of the inspection the agency was providing care for approximately 110 people living on the Isle of Wight. Not everyone using Bluebird Care (Isle of Wight) received a 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.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection:
We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit as we needed to be sure relevant staff would be available in the agency office.
Inspection site visit activity started on 5 March 2019 and ended on 7 March 2019. We visited the office location on 5 and 7 March 2019 to see the registered manager and office staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures.
What we did:
Before the inspection, we reviewed information we had received about the service, including previous inspection reports, action plans and notifications. Notifications are information about specific important events the service is legally required to send to us. We also considered information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.
During the inspection, we gathered information from:
• 15 people who used the service
• Ten relatives or friends of people who used the service
• We visited three people in their own homes
• Eight people's care records
• Records of accidents, incidents and complaints
• Audits and quality assurance reports
• A director of the company, the registered manager and four office based staff
• Eight members of care staff