Bluebird Care (Stroud and Cirencester)

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

Well-led – this means we looked for evidence that service leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care; supported learning and innovation; and promoted an open, fair culture.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has changed to outstanding.

This meant service leadership was exceptional and distinctive. Leaders and the culture they created drove and improved high-quality, person-centred care.

This service scored 89 (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 had a shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and understanding challenges and the needs of people and their communities.

The provider told us despite best practice initiatives and strong ambition within the service, there had been a disconnect between systems, communication and implementation. The provider addressed this by conducting a whole team survey. Following feedback from the survey the provider improved the way learning and feedback was reflected in practice, strengthen leadership and how the service monitored quality of care for people. They implemented a new management model, and how staff were supported through supervision. These new ways of working helped embed better care for people by staff who had strong skills and knowledge and were led by a committed leadership. Feedback from people who used the service reflected the positive impact the changes had for people.

People and their relatives supported what the provider told us. One 1 relative told us, “I think it is an excellent service. Its enabling Mum to stay in her own home.” Another person told us “I think it’s the professionalism and the kindness…I think it is a completely brilliant combination.”

The provider had exceptionally inclusive leaders at all levels who understood the context in which they delivered care, treatment and support and embodied the culture and values of their workforce and organisation. Leaders had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. They always did so with integrity, openness and honesty.

The registered manager and their management team, including the director, had established a strong and longstanding leadership team. Their collaborative approach created a cohesive and effective leadership team. Leaders demonstrated a genuine passion for the service and a clear commitment to their roles and responsibilities. Leadership within the service was characterised by integrity, openness and honesty, fostering a culture where staff felt supported and motivated to deliver high quality care. Leaders demonstrated respect and compassion for the staff team and valued the staff as individuals.

Leaders at the service were experienced, visible and approachable, creating a positive and supportive culture for both people using the service and staff. There was a long standing registered manager in post, providing stability and continuity within the service. Leadership was clear and visible within the service. The registered manager demonstrated good knowledge and insight into the needs of people the service supported, and what mattered to them. The registered manager kept up to date with their own training, knowledge and skills, so they remained well placed to support the staff team.

The office team were on hand if they needed to support staff in the community. There was an on call system in place for staff for example where staff were providing a live in care service for people [24 hour care in the person’s own home]. This gave staff reassurance if they needed advice about anything they could speak to a member of the management team at that time.

Staff commented they felt supported, “They are always aware (of how we feel or if it has been a difficult call). Management work in the same office as the supervisors. They will always check if there are concerns and they will come and help us if necessary. We have weekly meetings with the leader. Can't complain of lack of support.” and “Absolutely they get their information from our care notes but if we need them to look at something urgently, we can leave an alert or ring them directly. Things are acted upon quickly.”

People and their relatives told us, “I’ve got no complaints with it at all…Some of the managers have visited us at home.” A person told us “Yes very happy indeed. They’ve been marvellous.”

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard.

Staff were supported and encouraged to speak up, staff undertook training in this area every 3 years. There was a policy in place to support this. The management team worked hard to create a culture where raising concerns is normal practice and openly discussed. The management team operated a no blame culture.

Staff expressed confidence in the process, explaining that if they notice something wrong, they feel comfortable bringing it up and knew who to approach. Comments from staff included, “Yes we will go through the supervisors and up the chain. If I need to go higher up I would know where to go as their contacts are in the starter pack I received” and “I would ring the office and they are very upfront and we can always speak someone if it involves our manager.”

The provider valued diversity in their workforce. They worked towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who worked for them.

Bluebird care employed people from a range of backgrounds. The provider took active steps to ensure staff and leaders are representative of the population of people using the service. They wanted to give all their staff the same opportunities at the start of their careers with them. All staff completed a thorough induction programme with involves the completion of the care certificate. They had weekly supervisions as part of their induction. The management team track staff progress through the modules of the certificate and will offer more support where needed to help staff move forward. For example, where a staff member had difficulty completing their Care Certificate in a timely way the provider took the time to discuss what the obstacles were with the person. From this it became apparent some of the language used in the training package the staff member was not familiar with. The provider arranged for the Care certificate training to be available in their first language. This enabled the staff member to complete the Care certificate before the end of their induction and probation period.

The provider not only supported the person to complete their care certificate aspart of their induction they also ensured the staff member fully understood their training and were competent in carrying out care tasks independently. This commitment to staff as an inclusive organisation that could adapt and make reasonable adjustment for staff members when needed to ensure they were competent and equipped to go out to people’s homes. It showed the provider was a responsible employer not only committed to their staff’s development but the safety of the people it supported.

We saw staff had been supported to continue working for Bluebird care where it was no longer possible for them to work out in the community due to health reasons. The provider put measures in place to enable staff members to remain in employment with the company.

The provider supported their staff with commitments outside of work. This meant that staff with other commitments such as family had a positive work life balance. Comments from staff included “I have great work life balance. I don't feel pushed to the limit even though I work full time” and “We've got a great team, even down to the directors. They never look at you as just a staff member, I feel valued. Even the main director in Stroud will always ask how my family is and have a check in.”

The provider also offered incentives to staff to take on extra shifts or cover holidays and sickness. Providing this incentive meant the service no longer needed to use agency staff.

The provider valued staff and were proactive in making sure all staff felt part of the team and were included.

The provider had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. They used these to manage and deliver high-quality, sustainable care, treatment and support. They always acted on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and shared this securely with others when appropriate.

There was a clear governance framework in place, the registered manager had clear oversight of the service and there was consistent monitoring to ensure the same standard of care for everyone using the service. Where errors were identified these were acted on promptly. Regular audits of care delivery were undertaken including, care plans, medicine, recruitment, training and complaints and compliments. The information was collated and used to identify areas of improvement and implement positive change that impacted on people's lives.

There was a team approach to monitoring and overseeing the quality of care people received. The management team held regular meetings to discuss best practice, plans for the future and actions needed and supporting staff. Communication was at the core of the business. The registered manager was aware of their responsibilities to submit statutory notifications to CQC as required by law. The registered manager told us they felt well supported by their team and other supporting roles within the organisation.

The service had a risk management plan in place to ensure if any problems with providing a service to people there was system to make sure the most vulnerable were supported.

People and their relatives talked positively about staff, a relative told us “When you think about all the training they’ve got, the spots checks and the liaison with me I think it probably is…I met the office staff and if there’s a problem with cover, they come out and do it themselves.”

The provider clearly understood and carried out their duty to collaborate and worked in partnership, and services worked seamlessly for people. They always shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement.

The registered manager recognised the importance of building relationships with key partners to establish open communication and ensure that people’s needs could be met fully, and information shared appropriately and effectively across services. The registered manager had forged links with local funeral service to provide additional training for staff around the process after someone passes. The purpose of this was to enable staff to understand what people and their families went through and how they could be equipped to support them, many times packages of care included support for couples. We found staff were aware of when and how to contact other services for example and occupational therapist or district nurse.

Feedback from a professional working with the service said, “I have done a lot of work with Bluebird and have found them to be very professional and I have been able to work well with them in relation to communication, joint working, responsive to my advice and provision of equipment.”

The provider had a strong focus on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. They always encouraged creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people. They actively contributed to safe, effective practice and research.

Staff had access to resources to help them develop their skills and knowledge regularly. The provider provided a training academy that supported face to face training and also gave staff a chance to meet with each other in person. Staff talked to us about the advanced dementia training provided for staff where they wanted to progress and learn more about the subject matter. Both the manager and deputy manager were champions in this area.

The provider prided themselves on being dementia leads amongst their peers and had contributed to educational materials used by other homecare providers locally. The deputy manager had been involved alongside statutory agencies in developing guidance for other care providers to use in supporting people with dementia living in the community.

The provider was committed to continued development and innovation through accredited learning. The provider was part of an accredited framework in end of life for people. The Gold Standards Framework care is designed to improve the quality and coordination of end of life care for people supporting them to live well an die with dignity. The provider had future plans to establish an end of life care team to work with people, offering them a consistent team to support people and their families at this difficult time.

The provider had visits from the head office franchise, they had recently had a quality assurance check from Bluebird Care who had assessed the service in top tier in the country. This success provider staff and management with confidence about the standard of care they provided for people.

People and relatives talked highly about how well staff were skilled in their role supporting their loved ones. 1 relative told us, “They are well trained because they’ve shown my sisters and I how to (do things). We’ve learnt so much from watching them.”

The provider regularly sought feedback from their staff, people and their relatives. The provider conducted care reviews with people regularly and during this time they also asked for feedback on the service how well people with supported. Where suggestions were made the service tried to work with people to achieve this. 1 person told us “‘People have different values and expectations. Whenever I’ve said it’s not quite good enough, they have responded.” The provider gathered feedback about staff from people and their relatives and shared positive comments with staff members.