Bluebird Care (Doncaster)

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

Well-led – this means we looked for evidence that service leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care; supported learning and innovation; and promoted an open, fair culture.

This is the first assessment for this newly registered service. This key question has been rated good. This meant the service was consistently managed and well-led. Leaders and the culture they created promoted high-quality, person-centred care.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider had a shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and understanding challenges and the needs of people and their communities. The provider had clear visions and values based on providing personalised care. Some staff felt there was a positive culture within the service where they had access to career development and management support and mentoring, some staff felt there was a lack of opportunity to progress and said they were not confident that staff rights were always upheld. We discussed this with the provider who expressed concern and ensured us they were committed to enabling a positive culture in the workplace.

Staff understood their responsibility to provide safe, high-quality person-centred care to people, in line with the provider’s vision and values for the service. The provider’s policies, procedures and processes supported the vision and values of the service.

The manager used spot checks, supervision and staff team meetings to make sure staff understood how the service’s vision and values should be achieved through their working practices. We saw examples where the provider had identified shortfalls which had led to them taking action to drive improvement and embed knowledge.

The provider had inclusive leaders at all levels who understood the context in which they delivered care, treatment and support, and embodied the culture and values of their workforce and organisation. Leaders had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. They did so with integrity, openness and honesty. The management team were aware of their responsibilities to report to relevant bodies and the duty of candour.

People spoke highly of the provider, manager and their leadership. A relative told us, “They are good, first class and excellent.” Another relative said, “[Providers name] is lovely and nothing is too much trouble.

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. People and relatives confirmed they felt able to speak up about their care and issues were resolved. Staff knew about the whistle blowing procedure however some did not feel confident to speak up. A staff member told us, “I do not feel able to speak up. Concerns are listened to, but nothing is done about it.”

We discussed the mixed feedback with the provider who told us, “We remain committed to transparency, continuous improvement, and providing a supportive and legally compliant working environment for all staff. I respect every aspect of feedback, and we will work hard to ensure that they are all addressed. With our plans in place, I am sure they will alleviate staff worries. Our focus is, and always has been, on delivering high-quality care while respecting and supporting our team.”

The provider valued diversity in their workforce. They worked towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who worked for them. The provider had policies and procedures relating to equality, diversity and inclusion and staff had completed the relevant training. We saw examples where staff had requested rota changes at short notice so they could maintain their faith by attending church which the management team had facilitated.

The provider had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. They used these to manage and deliver good quality, sustainable care, treatment and support. They acted on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and shared this securely with others when appropriate. Regular audits were completed to check on the quality of people’s care and action plans showed timely response driving improvements.

The provider said, “It's not just about a tick box exercise to delivering care for us. I truly believe that our client's and their loved ones’ journey with us start from the time they interact with any information about us whether it be a leaflet or online search. From there we try our best to make that initial phone call all the way through bringing them onboard as a client, and throughout delivering care, a process that is seamless and positive. Even if a client leaves our services for e.g. going to residential care, we try to make the process a pleasant one. I know that not everything will always go right, but as a company we are open and honest and do try to learn from everything. This is what we try to instil in everyone, from the head to every single employee that we have.”

The provider worked in partnership with others to help ensure people received joined-up care that met their needs. They shared information and learning with health and social care professionals and collaborated to support continuous improvement.

People and relatives were encouraged to give feedback about how the service could be improved. A relative told us, “Yes, they [provider] ask for our feedback, and I have no problems.”

The provider worked well with healthcare professionals to collaborate on the delivery of safe, high-quality care to people. They followed guidance and recommendations from professionals, to support staff learning and improve the safety and quality of the delivery of people’s care and support. One person told us, “They listen, they do what's required and they listen to health professionals like nurses and doctors and follow instructions to the letter.”

The provider told us about ongoing training and partnership work, they said, “All Bluebird Care (Doncaster) staff are undergoing training through the Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Friends programme, supporting our mission to make Doncaster a more dementia-friendly community. We plan to do regular sessions with staff using real life examples that we meet in practice,” and “Our senior staff are scheduled to attend enhanced dementia training which is provided by the Bluebird Care Franchise Support Centre, to strengthen our in-house expertise.”

The provider had a goal for the next 12 months to become recognised leaders in dementia care through delivering a premium person-centred service. They had several initiatives to achieve their visions such as enhanced dementia training, implementation of a dementia screening tool to enhance individualised care, community charity events to tackle loneliness and plans to establish champions in specific areas of care such as nutrition, hydration and continence. The provider also shared they were in the early stages of exploring partnership work with the Alzheimer’s Society to recognise unpaid carers in the community.

The provider focused on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system.

The provider and management team used learning, from feedback and outcomes from audits and checks, to make improvements to the quality and safety of the care and support provided to people. They were a part of various community innovation which they were proud of. The provider said,” We were proud to recently be one of the main sponsors of a local sensory and dementia garden project. We also had the opportunity to attend the opening event, bringing along two of our clients and staff who accompanied them. One of our clients had not left home in many years, and we were able to support them in attending. They were overjoyed to meet the civic mayor as well. Seeing the joy was truly heartwarming and a reminder of why we do what we do.”