Bluebird Care (Reigate)

Bluebird Care (Reigate) provides care to people that live in their own homes. Services are provided to older people, people with mental health needs, physical and learning disabilities and sensory impairment. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. There were 63 people receiving personal care at the time of our inspection.

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

People told us they had not had a missed call and we found that there were appropriate numbers of staff to cover the calls. Risks associated with people’s care was managed well that included good infection control and the management of medicines.

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. Staff received appropriate training in relation to their role and were encouraged to progress. People told us that they were supported with all healthcare needs and we confirmed this from records.

People and relatives told us that staff were kind, caring and respectful towards them. We saw examples of this during our home visits. People were supported and encouraged to remain as independent as possible and were involved in decisions around their care. Care plans were planned around people’s needs and staff were provided with sufficient guidance in relation to the this. Staff were knowledgeable about the needs of people and their backgrounds.

There was a comprehensive system in place to assess the quality of care provided. People and relatives knew how to complain and were confident that complaints would be listened to and addressed. People, relatives and staff thought the leadership of the service was robust and effective.

Rating at last inspection

At the last inspection the service was rated Good (the report was published on the 4 February 2017).

Why we inspected

This inspection was part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check the safety and quality of care people received.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner

The inspection took place on 12 December 2016 and included a visit to the agency’s office, interviews with care workers and phone calls to people who used the service.

The service did not have 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. The current manager had been managing the service since 10th October 2016 and was in the process of applying to be registered.

People told us that they felt safe as a result of the care they received. Several people cited the agency as the reason they were able to remain living in their own home. The service had appropriate systems to safeguard people from the risk of harm or abuse and staff were knowledgeable about how to keep protect people and keep them safe.

There were systems in place to ensure the service safely recruited sufficient and appropriate staff to support people. Once employed, staff completed a comprehensive programme of induction and training to ensure they had the necessary skills and experience to meet people’s needs. Communication systems across the service were good and staff were effectively supported to deliver high quality care.

People were supported to maintain good health. The service worked in partnership with a range of other healthcare professionals to provide a holistic approach to care. Where people were supported with their medicines, this was done safely so that people received their medicines as prescribed.

Staff understood the importance of supporting people to maintain adequate nutrition and hydration. Care plans identified where people needed additional support and steps were taken to ensure these people received sufficient food and fluids each day.

People’s needs and homes were fully assessed before care was provided. As such, any risks associated with their care were now identified and managed safely. The service was responsive to changes in people’s needs and tailored their services accordingly.

People were involved in the planning and reviewing of their care and supported to be as independent as possible. Staff respected people and understood the importance of gaining consent from people. Staff demonstrated an awareness of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and knew what to do if a person refused to accept their care.

Staff were kind and compassionate and demonstrated the values of the agency to provide caring and high quality support. As such, people received care that was provided in a respectful way that promoted their privacy and dignity.

Bluebird Care (Reigate) had good management systems in place to ensure people received consistently good care. People praised the support they received from their care workers in addition to the reliability and efficiency of service that they receive from the office.

The management team were continually looking at ways to improve service delivery and sought and listened to feedback from people and their representatives. A recent change which meant that care workers were now allocated to defined geographical areas had had a positive impact for both people and staff. Similarly, the introduction of live monitoring of people’s support both protected the most vulnerable and enabled effective sharing of information with other health care professionals.