Bluebird Care (Stroud and Cirencester)

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 outstanding. At this assessment the rating has changed to 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.

Care records showed the positive approach staff used with people to help them achieve the outcomes they wanted. This information showed how staff were experienced and knowledgeable and supported people well. Staff language in care records was positive and showed they truly put the person at the centre of their care. Generally, the registered manager tried to use the same rotation of staff so this gave an opportunity for staff and people and families to get know each other and understand people’s needs and preferences.

Staff supported people they cared for who lost loved ones. For example, where a person lost a loved one the service put in extra support to ensure the person could carry on with the daily routines, such as ensuring their dog had their daily medication and was walked at a time the person was grieving.

People were positive about the way that staff treated them and their loved ones. Feedback we received included, “They found out what [relative] likes. They like being chatted to… They treat them with professionalism, respect and kindness” and “They’re like family. They’re wonderful. They’re very good indeed. They’re really, really exceptional” and “I think they’ve got to know them over the time. If their house was a mess, they would know it was out of character for [relative]. If they’ve got new carers, they always double up to introduce them.”

We saw evidence of staff demonstrating the core values of the service and wanting to deliver the best care and support for people. 1 staff member told us, “I would say that the aim of the organisation is to ensure people have the best possible lives that they can and facilitate their wishes, we help them with the things they find difficult. We help them live the lives that they want to live within the environment that they wish to be in. if they wish to die at home for example we do everything that we can to facilitate this. We try to put a bit of happiness in their lives, and we try to make they feel looked after.”

Staff awareness of treating people with kindness and dignity was reflected in the conversations they had with us. 1 staff member said, “We chat to them whilst carrying out tasks and we leave them feeling content. It is about understanding the customer and whether they wish to chat. I will make small talk with them whilst carrying out personal care to make them feel settled.” Another member of staff told us, “We try to place the same carers with the same customers wherever possible. Same with live-in carers. We try to stick to patterns for people.”

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.

We saw evidence from the provider demonstrating how they met people’s needs and preferences. For example, 1 person’s dementia presented some risks to them remining living home on their own, however the emotional and psychological benefits they got from living at home outweighed those risks. The care provider respected the person as an individual and worked with them and their family to support them to stay at home. The care and support the staff provided focussed around the person’s strengths, abilities and background. The provider showed us how they built trust with the person by introducing a small consistent team into the person’s life, using a sensitive approach to how they communicated with the person. As the person’s needs changed over time the care adapted to meet their needs. Starting later in the day and increasing the amount of time spent and calls provided. The person valued interactions with staff, spending time chatting with the person as well as supporting with personal care. These conversations have helped the person stay connected to the world.

The care team supported the person to feel included and give them a sense of occupation to their day.

Other people and their relatives told us how staff talked to people and relatives to find out about the person, backgrounds and culture so they could tailor their support and conversation for the individual. People and their relatives told us how by staff treating people as individuals they empowered that person in their everyday life. A relative told us “They will ask [them] what they want to eat…. they do the same with their washing. If [they] don’t feel like washing, they say we’ll do it another day. They empower them.”

Another relative told us, “When we started, she asked questions about what religion are you? What do you like, what don’t you like? Quite often they ask them about their family and questions about their past. I think they do that quite well actually.” Another said, “[The] likes music and likes singing …they’ll put the radio on and find some music, and they’ll sing along with [them].”

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 care plans reflected their wishes and preferences, strengths and abilities. The provider was keen to promote people’s independence, they worked with a lot of people living with a dementia at different stages of their journey. The provider understood people lived with risk and incorporated this into their care plans. The focus on communication and providing joined up care helped to manage any risks. The provider had an effective system in place for keeping relatives as well as professionals up to date with what was happening with people’s loved ones and where they were trying different approaches with people that may enhance their lives.

A relative told us how staff suggested getting a dementia clock and white board for their relative with a dementia to help the person with recognising day and time and what was happening that day. They told us, “They ask do you want to wear this today? Do you want to do this today? They have arranged a signal if they agree. They ask them what they want.”

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.

Staff were able to respond to people’s immediate changes appropriately. For example, where 1 person lived with a long term life limiting health condition and had a change in their presentation the attending staff member was able to respond in the moment whilst at the same time providing some comfort to the person’s partner who was present. This was an urgent situation and staff demonstrated a calm and professional approach in dealing with the situation. The person could no longer verbally communicate but because staff knew the individual well, caring for them for a long time they could recognise physical signs of immediate deterioration with the person and respond by calling emergency help whilst supporting the person whilst they waited for emergency services to arrive. Whilst the person was attended to by the emergency services the staff member held the person’s hand and talked with them offering reassurance and kindness. Not only was the staff member able to respond to the person they were able to offer the partner support during and immediately after events also. This demonstrated how well staff could adapt to a fast changing situation and help to bring a sense of calm to the situation. The impact the actions the staff member took at the time reflected how well they understood people’s needs.

The provider always cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care.

Staff had access to arrange of resources to support them when, for example, a person they cared for passed away. The registered manager and their management team made sure they communicated to staff when someone had passed away and staff had the opportunity to speak with the management team following sad news. This happened in a timely manner. Staff were supported if they were asked by family to attend funerals.

Staff told us they felt supported and enjoyed their job. A staff member told us, “Making a difference to people's lives and making them happy. I like being responsible for making people happy and safe and they feel we have done everything we can for them.”

Feedback from people and their relatives reflected the view staff were well supported by their employer and this in turn impacted on how people and their families viewed staff.The service had a relatively stable work force and some staff who left wanted to return.People and their families told us, “Staff seem very happy to be there…I think that they are appreciated in their workplace… That’s part of the joy of them they do seem happy and upbeat to see my [relative]” and “From my impression they’ve got quite good retention of staff. That would be my impression that they treat their staff fairly and they’ve always been respectful to me and my relative.”