Archived: Bluebird Care (Fareham & Gosport)

Updated 21 March 2018

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 23 and 30 January 2018. The provider was given 24 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be in. The inspection team consisted of two inspectors on the first day and one inspector on the second day.

Before this inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give us some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also checked other information we held about the service including previous inspection reports and notifications. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law.

During the inspection we spoke with six people receiving care and support and two family members by telephone. We spoke with a further two people and two family members when we visited their homes. We spoke with the registered manager, director, operations manager, care coordinator, customer supervisor and six care staff. We looked at care records for six people, medicines records and recruitment records for four care staff. We looked at other records in relation to the management of the service, such as health and safety, minutes of staff meetings and quality assurance records.

Updated 21 March 2018

We carried out this announced inspection on the 23 and 30 January 2018.The provider was given 24 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service; we needed to be sure that someone would be available in the office.

Bluebird Care (Fareham & Gosport) provides personal care and support to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection the agency was providing a service for 58 older people with a variety of care needs, including people living with physical frailty or memory loss due to the progression of age.

We last inspected this service on 23 November 2016 and we identified two areas where improvement was required in respect of continuity of care staff and poor communication within the office. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and people were now happy with the service provided.

The service had 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.

We received positive feedback from people about the service. All the people who used the service expressed great satisfaction and spoke highly of the care staff. A complaints procedure was in place and people knew how to make a complaint if they needed to.

People felt safe with the service provided by Bluebird Care (Fareham & Gosport) and risks to people were minimized through appropriate risk management. There were plans in place for foreseeable emergencies.

Relevant recruitment checks were conducted before staff started working at Bluebird Care (Fareham & Gosport) to make sure they were of good character and had the necessary skills. Staff had received training in safeguarding adults and knew how to identify, prevent and report abuse. There were enough staff to keep people safe.

People were supported to take their medicines safely from suitably trained staff. Medication administration records (MAR) confirmed people had received their medicines as prescribed. Staff contacted healthcare professionals promptly when they had concerns about people’s health and wellbeing.

People felt they were treated with kindness and compassion and said their privacy and dignity was respected. Staff had an understanding of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and understood that people had the right to make their own choices.

People were supported with their nutritional needs when required. People received varied meals including a choice of fresh food and drinks. Staff were aware of people’s likes and dislikes and went out of their way to provide people with what they wanted.

Staff received regular support and one to one sessions or supervision to discuss areas of development. They completed a wide range of training and felt it supported them in their job role.

Care plans provided comprehensive information about how people wished to receive care and support. This helped ensure people received personalised care in a way that met their individual needs.

There were appropriate management arrangements in place. Staff felt supported by the management and felt they could visit the office and be listened to. Regular audits of the service were carried out to assess and monitor the quality of the service.