Archived: Bluebird Care (Newbury)

Updated 9 February 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 14 January 2016 and was announced. The provider was given notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service. We needed to be sure that the staff would be available in the office to assist with the inspection.

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

During the inspection we looked at the Provider Information Return (PIR) which the provider sent to us. This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also looked at all the information we have collected about the service. This included notifications the registered manager had sent us. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to tell us about by law.

On the day of the inspection we spoke with the registered manager and the 'care manager' who was assisting the registered manager to organise the service, day-to-day. We spoke with six staff and six people who use the service. We contacted seven local authority personnel and other professionals and received written responses from four. We looked at records relating to the management of the service. These included five people’s care plans, a selection of policies and a sample of staff recruitment files and training records.

Updated 9 February 2016

This was an announced inspection which took place on 14 January 2016. Bluebird Care (Newbury) is a domiciliary care service which is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes. The service currently provides personal care to 58 people who live in the Newbury and West Berkshire area. Since September 2015, Bluebird Care ( Newbury) only accepts referrals from NHS and Self-funded customers.

There is a registered manager running the service. 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.

People told us they always felt safe when using the service. Staff had been properly trained and knew how to protect people in their care. There were enough staff who had been safely recruited to provide appropriate care to people. All risks were identified and managed to make sure that people and staff were kept as safe as possible.

People’s rights were protected by staff who understood consent issues and the Mental Capacity Act (2005). The Mental Capacity Act 2005 legislation provides a legal framework that sets out how to act to support people who do not have capacity to make a specific decision. People’s capacity to make decisions was recorded and appropriate paperwork was included in care plans. People were always asked for consent prior to care being undertaken.

People had their needs met by staff who were well trained, well supported and had the knowledge and skills required to give people personalised care. People told us they were very happy with the care they received. They described the staff as respectful and caring and the care as very good to excellent. The service respected people and staff’s diversity.

The service was very well managed. Staff, people and other professionals described the management team as supportive, approachable and responsive. The quality of care provided was continually reviewed and development or improvements made, as appropriate.

Summary of findings