Bluebird Care South Tyneside, Newcastle and Darlington

Bluebird Care (South Tyneside) is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to older people living in their own homes. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. 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.

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

People and relatives described the care as exceptional. They said it was “second to none” and “phenomenal.” One relative described it as a ‘shining example’ of what a homecare service should be.

Staff were especially responsive and regularly went above and beyond to ensure people's needs were anticipated and met with the utmost dignity and respect. Health professionals praised the skills of staff, especially for caring for people with complex needs. Staff strived to ensure people received care in personalised and meaningful ways.

The director, registered manager and whole staff team worked enthusiastically to provide excellence in line with the service's values. People were central to how the service operated. Staff were flexible and adapted to people's changing needs.

There was a very strong ethos throughout the service of putting people first and a desire to continually improve. There were good opportunities for people and staff to give feedback about the service. Staff felt particularly valued and listened to. The provider was proactive about participating in joint working initiatives and sharing good practice.

The service had developed innovative ways of ensuring staff received excellent support and their wellbeing was enhanced. The provider was especially effective when working with other professionals to develop the skills of the staff team. People and staff were instrumental in the quality assurance system to drive sustained improvement.

People, relatives and staff said the service was safe. Staff understood the safeguarding and whistle blowing procedures; they knew how to report concerns and were confident to do so. Previous safeguarding concerns had been reported and investigated. People received care from a reliable and consistent team of staff. New staff were recruited safely. People received their prescribed medicines when they were due. Incidents and accidents were investigated thoroughly.

Staff were very well supported from when they first started working for the service. They also had access to good training opportunities. 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 had been involved in deciding the care they needed, care plans were highly personalised. The provider took a holistic view to ensure people continued to participate in activities.

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 23 December 2016).

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.

Bluebird Care (South Tyneside) is a domiciliary care agency which provides personal care for people living in their own homes to meet their individual social care needs and circumstances. Bluebird Care (South Tyneside) is registered to provide care for older people, people living with dementia, people with a learning disability or autistic spectrum condition, people with mental health needs and people with a physical disability.

A registered manager was registered with the Care Quality Commission at the time of the inspection. 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.

Concerns and incidents were investigated and action taken.

Risks had been assessed and mitigated against.

Care plans were detailed and reflected people’s current needs. Some people had very detailed and personalised care plans and risk assessments which specified their preferences and supported them to maintain their independence. People said they had been involved in their care plans and had attended reviews.

Various audits were completed and had been effective in identifying areas for improvement.

Staff understood mental capacity and ensured they involved people in decision making, supporting them to make their own decisions about their care wherever possible.

People and their relatives told us staff were caring, respectful and treated them with dignity. One person said, “They are wonderful,” another person told us, “I see the same girls they know me well and they are part of the family.”

Medicines were managed appropriately.

Recruitment practices were appropriate and included seeking references and Disclosure and Barring Service checks prior to applicants starting in post. Inductions for new staff were comprehensive and staff training was up to date.

Staff told us they were well supported and that they attended supervisions which were meaningful.

Complaints were logged, investigated and appropriate action was taken to respond.

Feedback was sought and acted upon. A community newsletter shared the key findings with people and noted the areas of improvement and how they would be addressed.

Partnerships had been developed with various agencies and this was being used to develop the service and ensure people received holistic care and support, which included advice around home safety.

The provider was very involved and visible within the day to day operations and his commitment to inspiring his staff to provide a quality service was clear.