Bluebird Care (Carlisle)

On this page

• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

Caring – this means we looked for evidence that the provider involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.

This service scored 80 (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 always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

Comments from people included, “They are very caring, they know how to care for me. We have a good rapport,” and “There are no issues, they always maintain my dignity.”

Staff practice was regularly observed to ensure a caring approach with people which respected their dignity and personal preferences.

The provider treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. They took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

People said they had been asked if they had any preferences, such as male or female staff to support them. Some people said they had no preference, whilst others did. Where this had not been met, people told us the provider was responsive to their feedback, apologies were offered and changes made.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

People’s independence was promoted and supported. Care records included information on what people were able to do for themselves so they were not over supported. One person said, “[Staff] explain things until I understand as sometimes, I have trouble.” Relative’s comments included, “[Staff] ask permission before they do things,” and “[Staff] said what they are doing, reassure.”

The provider listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff responded to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

Changes in people’s needs were responded to efficiently and effectively wherever possible, including outside of usual office hours. Staff had support from office staff, and a robust on-call system was in place. A relative said, “They usually listen and deal with things straight away.”

The provider always cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and was exceptional at supporting and enabling staff to always deliver person-centred care.

There were exceptional systems in place to support wellbeing which staff were overwhelmingly positive about. This included a comprehensive health and wellbeing package, which included access online therapy, crisis and financial support and a wellbeing app. There was an effective and pro-active on-call system as well as initiatives such as a mental health first aider, menopause support, a wellbeing programme and a community kitchen where staff could access drinks, fruit and snacks.

Staff comments included, “Managers definitely care about our wellbeing, they encourage us to drop into the office, there’s a wellbeing board and good opportunities to give feedback which is addressed,” and “[The management team] all care about our work-life balance.” Other comments included, “Managers are flexible and supportive, we always get recognition and praised,” “[Managers] are very supportive, they’ve really helped me grow in confidence,” “They are very flexible around family life when needed,” and “I love working here, there’s a good feedback loop and we get a weekly newsletter and lots of support.”

Regular supervisions were held by way of one-to-one meetings and observations of practice. Team meetings were held regularly and provided staff with an opportunity to be open about any concerns. Meetings included discussions for shared learning and positive feedback. Positive feedback from people, colleagues and health processional was rewarded with ‘Care Friends’ points which equated to cash bonuses.

A care mentor was in post, who had completed a level 2 in mentoring, coaching and leadership. Their role was to support new and experienced care staff to develop in their role.