Blue Sky Enabling

Updated 26 September 2018

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.

The inspection took place on 5 and 30 July 2018, and was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because we needed to be sure someone would be in.

This inspection was undertaken by one inspector and an 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 care service.

Before our inspection visit, we reviewed the 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. We looked at previous inspection reports and notifications we had received. Services tell us about important events relating to the care they provide using a notification.

In order to gain feedback about Blue Sky Enabling, we spoke to two people who used the service, two relatives and four staff on the telephone. We spoke with the registered manager, the chief executive and three staff in the office. We looked at people's care records and documentation in relation to the management of the agency. This included quality auditing processes and staff training and recruitment records. After the inspection, we contacted 14 health and social care professionals for their views of the service. Four health and social care professionals responded.

Updated 26 September 2018

This inspection took place on 5 and 30 July 2018 and was announced.

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses in the community. It provides a service to older adults and younger disabled adults.

Not everyone using Blue Sky Enabling receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care', and help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. For people who receive a regulated activity, we also take into account any wider social care provided.

The last inspection took place on 7 and 31 October, and 16 November 2016. We identified one breach in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. This was because records did not consistently demonstrate a robust recruitment procedure.

Following the last inspection, we asked the provider to complete an action plan to show what they would do and by when, to improve the key question of whether the service was safe, to at least good. At this inspection, improvements had been made.

There was a new registered manager in post. 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. The registered manager was available throughout the inspection.

The registered manager began their role in December 2017. Since their appointment, they had developed the culture of the agency and various management systems. The registered manager had an open approach and encouraged people and staff to share their views about the service. This was on a day to day basis and more formally through surveys. Feedback was being used to enhance service delivery.

People and their relatives were happy with the service they received. However, feedback from health and social care professionals was variable. The registered manager told us they would consider this and make amendments where needed.

Whilst people had comprehensive support plans in place, staff did not always use objective terminology when writing daily records. The registered manager told us a staff training session would be arranged to develop this area. There were clear plans regarding the management of risk.

There was a strong focus on enablement and promoting independence. People were encouraged to make decisions and aspire to achieving their goals. They received a range of support from various health and social care professionals and enabled to lead healthy lives. People received support with meal preparation if needed and had enough to eat and drink.

There were enough staff to support people safely. People and their relatives were given the opportunity to be involved in recruiting the staff who would be supporting them. This enabled a sense of ownership and encouraged successful relationships. People were supported by a small team of staff which ensured consistency.

Staff received a detailed induction when they joined the agency. This was “signed off” by the registered manager to ensure all new staff were competent to work with people. Staff received support on a day to day basis and more formally through one to one meetings. They undertook a range of training to be able to support people safely and effectively.

A range of audits and monitoring visits assessed the quality of the service provided. The introduction of a new electronic record management system, was being used to give an overview of service provision.