Archived: Bluebird Care (Scarborough & Bridlington)

Updated 17 December 2015

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 18 August 2015 and was unannounced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and staff are often out during the day; we needed to be sure that someone would be at the main office.

The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an expert by experience that had experience of residential and domiciliary care services. They telephoned people who used the service following the inspection visit to the service. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Prior to the inspection we reviewed all the information we held about the service which included statutory notifications made by the provider. Notifications are a requirement on the provider to give CQC information about certain events which affect the service. We also contacted North Yorkshire County Council quality monitoring team and a team manager to ask for their comments about the service because there had been some recent concern. They told us that those concerns had been dealt with appropriately by the director and manager.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection we spoke with 13 people who used the service, six relatives, five care workers, the manager and the director. We looked at the care records of five people who used the service along with associated risk assessments and medicine records. We also reviewed records associated with running the service such as policies and procedures, audits and accident and incident records.

Updated 17 December 2015

This inspection took place on 18 August 2015 and was announced. There had been no breaches of regulations when the service was last inspected on 5 November 2013.

Bluebird Care (Scarborough & Bridlington) is a domiciliary care service providing support and personal care to people in their own homes in the Scarborough and Bridlington areas. The service can support younger adults and older people who have physical health conditions, sensory impairment or dementia. There was no registered manager at the service on the day of our inspection but there was a manager employed who had started the process of registration with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) because a registered manager is required for this service.

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.

Staff were recruited safely and received training that was relevant to their roles. There was sufficient staff employed to meet people’s needs. They were supported through supervision by senior staff.

Care plans were comprehensive and had associated risk assessments. Medicines were managed safely. People were protected because staff at this service were aware of and followed the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005.

Staff had been trained to recognise and report abuse which meant that people who used the service could be confident that staff knew how to alert the appropriate people if it was necessary.

Most of the people who used the service were positive in their comments about staff. However there were some people who felt that improvements were needed because some people felt that their care was rushed and that care workers did not listen to them. We have made a recommendation about treating people with dignity and respect.

The service was well led by a director and manager who both had experience of working in social care services. In order to monitor and maintain the quality of the service audits had been completed and quality assurance surveys carried out.