Background to this inspection
Updated
9 November 2018
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. The inspection was planned to check whether the provider was 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.
The inspection was announced. The provider was given notice of our inspection visit because the location provides a domiciliary care service. We did this because the registered manager is sometimes out of the office supporting staff or visiting people who use the service. We needed to be sure that they would be available to contribute to the inspection.
The inspection team consisted of one inspector and one expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of service. Our inspector visited the administration office of the service on 20 February and 6 March 2018. On 19 and 21 February our expert by experience telephoned people who used the service to seek their views about how well it was meeting their needs.
Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR) and we took this into account when we made the judgements in this report. The PIR is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also reviewed other information that we held about the service such as notifications (events which happened in the service that the provider is required to tell us about) and information shared by other organisations, including the local authority contracting and safeguarding teams.
During our inspection we spoke with 15 people who used the service, the registered manager, three care workers, two of the directors of the company that owns the service and two local healthcare professionals. We looked at a range of documents and written records including two people’s care plans, two staff recruitment files and information relating to the administration of medicines and the auditing and monitoring of service provision.
Updated
9 November 2018
Bluebird Care (Peterborough & Rutland) is a domiciliary care agency. It is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes in the community, including older people and people living with dementia.
We inspected the service on 19, 20 and 21 February and 6 March 2018. The inspection was announced. At the time of our inspection 85 people were receiving a personal care service.
The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with CQC to manage the service. Like registered providers (the ‘provider’) 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.
At our last inspection in January 2015 we rated the service as Good. At this inspection we were pleased to find that the quality of the service had improved and the service is now rated as Outstanding.
The directors of the company that owned the service were actively involved in day-to-day operations and provided strong and principled leadership to their team. The directors and the registered manager had a very open and accessible approach and had created an extremely positive and caring organisational culture. As a result, people were supported with exceptional kindness and compassion in ways which often went far beyond formal contractual requirements. People were treated with dignity and respect and were encouraged to retain their independence and exercise choice and control over their lives. End of life care was provided sensitively.
The directors and the registered manager also took a great interest in the welfare and happiness of their team and went to very considerable lengths to promote this. As a result, staff enjoyed coming to work and could think of no ways in which the running of the service could be improved.
The provider maintained a systematic and comprehensive approach to staff training, personal development and supervision. As a result, staff had the skills and knowledge required to provide safe, effective, person-centred care and had been commended by other healthcare professionals for their expertise. Staff understood each person’s individual needs and preferences and used this knowledge to provide them with flexible, responsive support which enhanced the quality of their lives. Since our last inspection, the provider had invested in an innovative new electronic care planning and call monitoring system which had increased the safety of medicine administration and enhanced communication, enabling staff to respond more quickly and effectively to people’s individual needs and wishes. People were closely involved in the development of their individual care plan and met with the provider on a regular basis to discuss and agree any changes.
The provider had a careful, conscientious approach to call scheduling which meant care calls were almost always on time. The provider had responded to feedback from people who used the service and taken action to ensure people were supported by the same care staff on every call, wherever this was possible.
Led by the directors, there was a strong culture of innovation within the service. Since our last inspection, a number of successful initiatives had been introduced to enhance the person-centred nature of the service and further actions were in hand for the future. Systems were in place to identify organisational learning from significant incidents.
The provider assessed any potential risks to people and staff and put preventive measures in place to address them. Staff knew how to recognise and report any concerns to keep people safe from harm and were aware of people’s rights under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People who needed staff assistance to take their medicines were supported safely and staff worked closely with local healthcare services to ensure people had access to specialist support whenever this was required. Staff supported people to prepare food and drink of their choice.
Without exception, people told us how highly they thought of the service. People said they had no reason to complain but were confident that any complaint would be handled properly if they did. The provider maintained a range of auditing systems to monitor service delivery and ensure it remained in line with people’s needs and preferences. The provider sought people’s opinions through regular customer surveys and took action to address any suggestions for improvement that were received.