Bluebird Care (Bristol, Bath & N E Somerset)

On this page

• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

Effective – this means we looked for evidence that people’s care, treatment and support achieved good outcomes and promoted a good quality of life, based on best available evidence.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good.

This meant people’s outcomes were consistently good, and people’s feedback confirmed this.

This service scored 79 (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 made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, well-being and communication needs with them. People told us they had their needs assessed before support commenced. There was evidence of professionals being involved in the assessment with contact details available. The provider completed an initial assessment of needs and followed up with a reassessment of care provision after 1 week, 4 weeks, 13 weeks and then every 6 months or sooner if people’s needs changed, to ensure ongoing monitoring of the person’s needs was in place. The case management system provided an alert to care managers on when assessments of people’s needs were required in line with policy.

The provider planned and delivered people’s care and treatment with them, including what was important and mattered to them. They did this in line with legislation and current evidence-based good practice and standards. The provider had a good relationship with the GP practices people were signed up with. There was evidence of regular communication with professionals on behalf of people to ensure people’s need were met. The service had evidence-based tools embedded into their care planning system, for example tools related to people’s specific needs.

The provider worked well across teams and services to support people. They made sure people only needed to tell their story once by sharing their assessment of needs when people moved between different services. For example, the service provided a letter to people’s GP surgery when they signed up for support with the person’s name, date of birth and contact details should the GP surgery need to get in touch. Relatives told us staff would contact professionals if they needed to communicate anything about family members. The manager was committed to ensuring staff had all the information they needed to provide appropriate support to people and there were regular team meetings. Staff told us, the systems for communication with other care providers worked well and they contacted the office so communication with professionals was dealt with centrally.

The provider always supported people to manage their health and wellbeing to fully maximise their independence, choice and control. Staff supported people to live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support. One person told us, “I am recovering from a recent operation and [staff] check that I’m doing my exercises.” There was evidence of the provider liaising with professionals to gain respite support for a carer so they could access appointments and go on outings. Leaders told us they worked with local authority quality teams, social workers and various health professionals to help people live healthier lives. The provider had recently worked with a local food provider where people could access a 10% discount off their first 6 orders. Daily care notes provided evidence that people had their support needs met.

The provider monitored all people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. They ensured that outcomes were positive and consistent, and that they fully met both clinical expectations and the expectations of people themselves. For example, people were able to view their information via the electronic care application so they could see all the relevant details of their care needs, daily notes and outcomes achieved. One person told us, “My daughter lives away and likes to keep up to date on what’s happening with my care, so she logs in regularly to see what’s going on.” Staff told us they would report any concerns or changes to people’s needs to office staff to follow up. The service completed regular feedback with people about their care needs and how the service was working for them. There were examples where people did not need the service anymore because their needs had been met and where the service had adapted the care to fit in with people’s changing needs. Regular audits of people’s care plans and risk assessments were being completed.

The provider told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment. People told us staff asked for consent during support visits. Staff showed a good understanding of consent. For example, 1 staff member told us, “For those who can speak, you must listen to them and follow their instructions. For those who are not able to speak, seek consent from them before undertaking any support by understanding their body language and follow the care plans.” Consent was clearly documented in care plans and there was a consent policy in place.