Bluebird Care South Somerset

Updated 18 January 2020

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Bluebird Care South Somerset is a ‘domiciliary care service’. Personal care services are provided into people’s own home.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. The registered manager was registered in October 2018.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave the registered manager and provider 48 hours’ notice about the start of the inspection as we wanted them to be available.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection we reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This information included the statutory notifications that the provider had sent to CQC. A notification is information about important events, which the service is required to send us by law. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 11 people who used the service or their relatives and asked them for their views on the service they received. We also received feedback via email from nine members of staff and spoke with the registered provider, registered manager, eight senior staff and two care assistants.

We looked briefly at people's electronic care records, staff records and other records relating to the running of the service. This included the compliment and complaints file, results of ‘customer’ and staff surveys, other audits and quality assurance reports.

Updated 18 January 2020

About the service

Bluebird Care South Somerset is registered to provide personal care services and a range of support services to people living in their own home. The geographical area covered includes Yeovil, Wincanton, Somerton, Ilminster, Crewkerne and Chard. At the time of this inspection the service was supporting 94 people of which 74 were in receipt of varying amounts of personal care support. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. The level of support ranged from a couple of hours per week up to 24 hours, Live-In Care. The provider has two other Bluebird Care branches in West Dorset and Purbeck.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People continued to receive a service that was safe. The staff team received the relevant training to ensure they safeguarded people from harm and managed any risks to their health and welfare. This ensured any risks were mitigated. Care plans included details about how moving and handling tasks had to be completed and the level of support the person needed with their medicines (if appropriate). The service had enough staff to meet the care needs of each person they supported and did not take on new packages of care unless they had the resources. Pre-recruitment checks were carried out to ensure new staff were suitable to support vulnerable people. Medicines were well managed, and people received their medicines as prescribed.

The service was effective in meeting people’s needs. Staff received the training they needed to meet people’s care and support needs and were regularly supervised. They worked in small geographical areas and were overseen by a supervisor. The supervisors maintained regular contact with people and ensured they continued to receive the service they needed. The staff ensured people had access to the healthcare support they needed and had introduced an initiative called Health Assist – an assessment where vital signs were recorded when well, so that signs of illness were identified quicker. Examples of health care services Bluebird Care worked in partnership with included the GPs, district nurses, speech and language therapists (SALT) and other allied healthcare professionals. The service had been pro-active in researching alternative services because of the withdrawal of a pharmacy service and this would have impacted greatly on people’s care. People were supported with eating and drinking where this was identified as a need in their care plan.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. The service was meeting the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (2005).

The service continues to be caring and each person received person-centred care based upon their own specific needs. People were overwhelmingly positive about the service they received from Bluebird Care South Somerset. They were treated with respect and dignity. The service had introduced a new initiative since the last inspection – Bluebird Treat. The service aimed to deliver one treat per month – this could be a range of things for example a special trip somewhere, a meal out or a social event. All staff we spoke with demonstrated great kindness and spoke respectfully about the people they supported. They told us they were proud to work for Bluebird Care.

The service continues to be responsive to people’s health and social needs. People received person centred care and support. Their care plans were regularly reviewed, and care delivery was adjusted to take account of changes in care needs and health status. Referrals were made to health and social care professionals and other agencies as appropriate. When people were at the end of their life the service provided well trained compassionate care staff to look after people them and to support family. The service would work in partnership with family and healthcare professionals to achieve this.

Care planning systems were innovative and used the PASS System. Via the use of technology, the care plans could be updated and amended in ‘real time’ and the information relayed to the staff team immediately. This meant the staff team always were supplied with the correct information and could deliver the right care.

The service had responded to feedback from people regarding additional services that would make their lives better. A toe nail cutting service and a home hairdressing service had been implemented. The service had looked at ways they could address loneliness in rural communities, had organised Christmas lunch for 30 in a local pub and supported other services with Community Grants. People and their families were encouraged to make their views known about all aspects of the service and were listened to, the service making changes where appropriate.

The service continues to be well led. There had been a change in registered manager since the last inspection, They, the provider and the senior staff team provided good leadership for the staff team. There was a clear focus on continually seeking to improve the service people received.

The service used a range of methods to ensure the quality and safety of the service was maintained to a high standard. Where shortfalls were identified they were acted upon. The service had been recognised as an outstanding domiciliary care provider in a recent ceremony where they had picked up a bronze award.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Outstanding (published May 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.