Background to this inspection
Updated
2 April 2020
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 Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
The inspection was carried out by one inspector.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.
The service had two managers registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was unannounced.
Inspection activity started on 10 February 2020 when we visited the office location.
What we did before the inspection
We looked at the information we held about the provider, which included information about important events the provider had notified us about what had happened at the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with the two registered managers, the branch manager and a care coordinator. We also spoke with five care workers. We looked at the care records of the six people who used the service and the staff records for six care workers. We also looked at a variety of records to do with the running of the service.
After the inspection
We requested more information from the provider and continued to seek clarification to validate evidence found. We reviewed comments people had written online about the service. We spoke with six people who use the service and two people’s relatives. We also spoke with three staff.
Updated
2 April 2020
About the service
Bluebird Care (Hillingdon) is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care and support to adults living in their own homes in the community. Not everyone using Bluebird Care (Hillingdon) receives regulated activity; the Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care'; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection the service was providing care to 50 people.
People’s experience of using this service
People felt safe, were happy with their care and support and told us staff were caring. People received consistent care from the same staff so they could develop trusting relationships with them. People told us staff treated them with respect and dignity.
There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service, recognise when improvements were required and take action in response to these. However, the service had not always informed the CQC of important events, as required by the regulations.
People received care and support to meet their needs. People had care and risk management plans in place which set out their likes and preferences for their care and their communication needs.
People were supported to be healthy and to access healthcare services. This included some trained staff providing an additional service to help people measure and monitor their health on a regular basis.
Staff supported people with their food and drinks appropriately, if they required this. Staff received training, support and supervision to provide care and meet people’s needs.
The provider had a suitable process in place for handling complaints and responding to these in an appropriate manner. 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, relatives and staff were able to give feedback and felt they were listened to when they did. The provider used this to develop the service. The service worked with other agencies to make sure people received joined up care.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection:
The last rating for this service was good (published 10 August 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.