Archived: Bluebird Care (Guildford)

Updated 15 January 2021

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. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

Service and service type

Bluebird Care (Guildford) is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. It provides a service to older people, people living with dementia and people who may have physical disabilities.

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 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This supported the provider and us to manage any potential risks associated with Covid-19. It was also to ensure the registered manager would be present to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We reviewed information shared with us by the provider and safeguarding concerns we had received from the service.

The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with six members of staff including the registered manager, office staff and care staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, policies and procedures, incidents and accidents, quality audits and governance.

After the inspection

We continued to seek additional information from the registered manager with regards to additional supporting evidence. We also spoke to an additional three people who use the service, three staff members and three relatives via phone or email.

Updated 15 January 2021

About the service:

Bluebird Care (Guildford) is a domiciliary care agency which provides support to people in their own homes. It operates in Woking, Guildford and Waverley. The service provides care and support to people with a variety of needs including dementia, mental health and physical disability. The service also provides live-in care 24 hours a day, seven days a week, respite care and ad hoc support to people.

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

Bluebird provided training to families and the local business community to help them to understand how to support people well. This helped families to be confident to support people at home between care worker visits.

People were supported to access healthcare services, staff recognised changes in people's health, and sought professional advice appropriately.

The service had developed strong links with the community. They took short notice packages of care and worked closely with the local authority on the winter pressures discharge project, supporting people to leave hospital and return to their homes.

People reported the service to be flexible and that it enabled families to have a break. There were many examples of where people had been supported to become more independent following timely skilled intervention by the service.

Some people had been identified as being at risk due to their health or living situation. Missed time sensitive medicines, uneaten food, decreased mobility and increased falls were all effectively noticed, reported and action was taken. Timely interventions by Bluebird helped people remain well at home for as long as possible.

Food and drink intake was recorded and effectively shared with healthcare professionals when there were concern. This helped staff to access appropriate timely support when needed.

Bluebird made financial awards to community groups that supported older people in the local area to help combat loneliness.

The service aimed to support people to live full lives and maintain contact with the local community. Random acts of kindness were provided by staff to help people have an increased feeling of well-being.

There was a positive culture in the service and management and staff were committed to ensuring people received the best service possible. Staff told us they were well supported and had a good working relationship with each other and the management team.

The service was regularly audited and monitored to ensure the service provided was effective and met people’s needs.

Many compliments had been received by the service. For example, “"Have recommended Bluebird to many people," "Can’t fault anything with the service," "I find them responsive to my needs" and "Very impressed with Bluebird."

People using the service all told us they felt safe and staff treated them in a kind, caring and respectful manner. People told us they received consistently effective care from the care staff. Comments included, “It is important to (Person) to be with someone they know,” “We have similar interests so can discuss things,” “You can't beat it. The best one (agency) I've been with. Very good, I can't fault the staff,” “Staff are respectful, polite and sensitive. I am very happy.”

People told us they were given a list each week detailing the times of their visits and the names of the staff rostered. Care workers were matched with people's interests and needs.

People told us if the staff or times altered they were mostly informed of these changes, staff always stayed for the full time of the visit and were competent in their roles. We were told staff often stayed over their allocated time to ensure all planned outcomes had been met.

Visits were not missed or very late. People were highly complementary of the service provided and of the registered manager. Comments included, “They (staff and management) are all wonderful, we are very pleased” and “We have nothing but praise for the care we get, no problems at all.”

Care plans were in place for all people using the service. There was an electronic care planning system in place. Staff accessed this on mobile phones which were provided to them. The information generated by this system was accurate, timely and detailed. The provider monitored and reported on all aspects of the service provided to people.

There were enough staff employed to help ensure all planned visits were made. Staff were recruited safely. New staff were provided with a robust induction and shadowed experienced staff until they felt confident to work alone.

Bluebird provided exceptional support to staff which helped them feel valued. Staff had been offered permanent contracts and regular hours if they wished.

Rating at last inspection and update:

At the last inspection the service was rated as Good (report published 23 January 2017)

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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 any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk