Blue Arrow Care Limited

Updated 4 March 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by an inspector and an Expert by Experience. 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

Blue Arrow Care Limited is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.

Registered manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the managers would be in their office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 19 January 2023 and ended on 24 January 2023. We visited the provider’s offices on the 23 January 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke in-person with the registered manager/business co-owner, care manager/business co-owner, the deputy manager, the live-in services manager and the companionship/social events manager. We received telephone and email feedback from 6 people using the service, 5 relatives, and 10 care staff in relation to their experiences and views about this home care provider.

We looked at a range of records. This included 6 people’s electronic care and risk management plans; multiple files in relation to staff recruitment, training and support; the overall management and governance of the service, including staff duty roster's and audits; and, multiple electronic medicines records.

After our visit we continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We requested additional evidence to be sent to us after our inspection. This included internal audits the provider had conducted to check medicines management, the occurrence of accidents and safeguarding incidents, staff spot check monitoring, staff training and supervision records and stakeholder feedback. We received this information as requested, which was used as part of our inspection.

Updated 4 March 2023

About the service

Blue Arrow Care Limited is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to adults living in their own homes. The Care Quality Commission (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. At the time of our inspection 62 older people were receiving a home care service from this provider. This included 5 people who received full-time packages of care from live-in-staff.

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

People were supported to develop and maintain relationships to avoid social isolation and participate in recreational activities both at home and in the wider community. This included regular in-person and/or telephone contact with people at risk of becoming social isolated, as well as ongoing opportunities to join in a variety of community-based social activities and events. This enabled people to live fulfilling life’s that reflected their social interests and wishes, and to stay in contact with people that were important to them, such as family and friends. People spoke positively about the providers companionship programme and the manager who was responsible for meeting people’s social needs and wishes and ensuring they avoided social isolation, especially for people who lived alone.

People and their relatives told us that they had a very positive experience receiving care at home from this domiciliary care agency. Typical comments included, “The carers are all really kind, helpful and reliable, which is exactly what you want from a home care company…Everything runs like clockwork” and “I am so grateful to have carers look after my [family member] who are always smiling, cheerful and gregarious...We couldn’t manage without Blue Arrow.”

People were supported by enough staff who had been safely recruited. However, we received mixed comments from people about staff time. We discussed this staff coordination issue with the managers at the time of our inspection who acknowledged this was an issue. The registered manager told us they were in the process of improving how they monitored and managed staff calls visit by creating a new managerial post specifically to monitor staff time keeping and increasing the number of in-person spot checks by the office based managers conducted on staff during their call visits. Progress made by the provider to achieve this stated aim will be closely monitored by the CQC.

People received continuity of care from the same small group of dedicated staff who were familiar with their needs, daily routines and preferences. The fitness and suitability of staff to work in adult social care had been thoroughly assessed as part of the providers comprehensive checks on prospective new recruits. People were protected against the risk of avoidable harm by staff who knew how to keep them safe. People were confident any concerns they raised would be listened to and dealt with appropriately. Staff followed current best practice guidelines regarding the prevention and control of infection including, those associated with COVID-19. Medicines systems were well-organised, and people received their prescribed medicines as and when they should.

People were cared for by staff who were suitably trained and supported. Assessments of people’s support needs and wishes were carried out before they were provided a home care service. Where staff were responsible for assisting people to eat and drink, their dietary needs and wishes were assessed and met. People were supported to stay healthy and well, and to access relevant community health and social care services as and when required. 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.

People were treated equally and had their human rights and diversity respected, including their cultural and spiritual needs and wishes. Staff treated people with dignity and respect and upheld their right to privacy. People typically described staff as “friendly” and “kind.” People were encouraged and supported to maintain their independent living, and do as much for themselves as they were willing and capable of doing so safely.

People's care plans were person-centred, detailed and kept up to date, which helped staff provide them with the individualised care at home they needed and wanted. Staff ensured they communicated and shared information with people in a way they could easily understand. People were encouraged to make decisions about the care and support they received at home and staff respected their informed choices and decisions. Where appropriate, people's end of life wishes, and contacts were known and recorded for staff to refer to.

People were complimentary about the way the office-based managers ran the service, and how approachable they all were. The quality and safety of the service people received was routinely monitored by the managers, who recognised the importance of learning lessons when things went wrong. The managers promoted an open and inclusive culture which sought the views of people, their relatives and staff. The provider worked in close partnership with other health and social care professionals and agencies to plan and deliver people's packages of care at home.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

This service was re-registered with us on 17 February 2023 and this is the first inspection. The last rating for the service at the previous premises was good, published on 31 May 2018.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect. If we receive any concerning information, we may inspect sooner.