Black Country Management Limited trading as Bluebird Care Walsall

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 75 (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. People and their relatives told us staff were kind, caring and treated them with respect. A person told us, “The staff are kind and caring showing compassion and understanding to my care needs. They are pleasant. They never rush my care and will slow down if I request it.” Another person told us, “The staff are kind and treat me well. They are professional. We laugh together a lot. “A relative told us, “The staff are very, kind and respectful, observing [person’s name] dignity and privacy when giving personal care.” Staff were respectful when speaking about people and their care needs. A staff member told us, “We protect people’s privacy and always listen to them, they love to talk, I encourage them and help to continue the conversation.” The registered manager told us they spoke with people and their relatives on a regular basis to seek their opinions of how staff were and always received positive responses and they also observed staff when they were in the community.

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 and their relatives told us staff knew people well and understood how to meet their individual needs. A relative told us, “They provide companionship and are always polite. They have a great relationship with mum, they are warm and very pleasant, providing consistent care.” Another relative told us, “The staff are well trained. [Person’s name] was reluctant at first to allow staff to help them but is okay with that now due to their understanding and gentle care.” Staff were able to describe people’s individual needs to us and told us peoples care plans were developed with information which helped them know peoples needs. A staff member said, “All information is in [the] care plan, routines are important to people and they have preferences met through the care plan. Preferences are understood by asking them questions, when we work in the community, we get to know what people do and don’t like and how they react to things.” Care plans gave information to staff which described how people’s individual needs should be met. For example, it described how 1 person preferred bottled water and another liked to have snacks left out on a table alongside their mobile telephone.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. People and their relatives told us staff supported them to stay independent and make their own decisions. A relative told us, “[Person’s name] likes the staff who are very responsive to their carer needs. [Person’s name] is set in their ways, but the staff are flexible. There is a regular team of staff in the week who [person’s name] is familiar with. [Person’s name] is very independent which is recognised and availed by the staff.” Staff told us they supported people to maintain their independence and offered people choices to give them control over their care. A staff member told us, “We communicate and support people to make decisions and do as much for themselves as they can, for example I always ask what they can do for themselves with personal care. Staff told us people are encouraged to make their own drinks or breakfast, and they offer support if needed. Care plans were written to encourage independence and ensure people made choices for themselves. For example, 1 care plan stressed the importance of offering choices with meals but referenced the persons preferences for drinks and advised staff not to ask every day just to make the drink of choice.

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.People and their relatives told us they felt listened to and staff provided care which was designed to meet people’s individual needs and preferences. A relative told us, “The staff are very kind, compassionate, and responsive to [person’s name] needs. I have every confidence in them. Their care is totally person centred.” Another relative told us, “We are happy with the service. We cannot fault it. [Person’s name] is living with dementia, and I consider the staff have stepped up in every area of their care. They are regular staff who we know well.” Staff told us they felt able to respond to people’s immediate needs. One staff member gave the example of being asked to help with a certain task and said they felt able to do this without the need to check with the office, in other circumstances they may need to confirm first but would always support where they could. The registered manager told us they had systems in place which provided an on-call system to contact the office in emergency situations. They said they were able to provide additional care when people needed it if they were unwell.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. The provider had systems in place to check on staff wellbeing. The registered manager told us they were systems in place to support staff which included supervisions, annual appraisals, surveys, meetings and regular checks on their welfare whilst out in the community. They told us they had accessed mental health first aid training for staff and did a wellbeing check with staff at least annually. The registered manager described having an open-door policy to discuss any personal issues staff may have and offer support where they could. Staff spoke positively about the support they received and confirmed what the registered manager had told us. A staff member said, “I feel 100% supported by the management team. It is one of the best teams and I feel supported, if I have an issue It is sorted, I like the fact we get a text to ask if we are home safe if we work past 8pm and they always chase up and check on us.”