Archived: Bluebird Care (Poole)

Updated 19 January 2017

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 15, 16 and 18 November 2016, with visits on 16 November 2016 to people who use the service. We told the service one day before our visit that we would be coming to ensure the people we needed to talk to would be available. This inspection was conducted by one inspector.

Before the inspection, we reviewed the information we held about the service; this included information we had received from third parties. We also sought the views of people who used the service through issuing questionnaires, these results were analysed and used to provide a view of the service. The local authority who commissions the service were asked for their views on the care and service provided by the service.

In addition, before the inspection the provider completed a 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 reviewed the information included in the PIR along with information we held about the service, for example, statutory notifications. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to tell us about by law.

During the inspection we visited three people and their relatives in their homes and spoke with another four people on the telephone who used the service. We spoke with six members of staff, the manager and the owner of the service. We checked three people’s care and medicine records in the office and with their permission, the records kept in their home when we visited them. We also saw records about how the service was managed. These included three staff recruitment and monitoring records, staff rotas, training records, audits and quality assurance records as well as a range of the provider’s policies and procedures.

The service had not previously been inspected.

Updated 19 January 2017

The inspection took place on 15, 16 and 18 November 2016 and was announced. We gave the provider one days notice to ensure people and staff we needed to speak with were available.

Bluebird Care UK is a national franchise. A franchise is when a franchisee (the provider) has bought the right to sell a specific company's (the franchisor's) products in a particular area using the company's name. At the time of the inspection visit Bluebird Care (Poole) provided care and support for up to 31 people living in their own homes.

The service had a registered manager. 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.

Relatives and people we spoke with were very satisfied with the service provided by Bluebird Care (Poole). People felt safe with the care staff and staff knew the correct procedures on how to respond and report potential abuse.

Staff were given enough time to provide effective care and support to people and told us they felt very well supported by the manager and the management team. There was a robust recruitment process for staff which ensured people were cared and supported by staff who had been safely recruited.

Staff received regular training and supervision which ensured they were provided with the relevant skills and support to develop their role and provide effective care and support for people in their own homes.

Medicines were managed safely.

People's rights were protected because staff and management had a working knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

Staff understood people’s care plans and provided individual support and care. People and staff told us communication within the company was good. Staff said there was always someone to speak to if they needed further advice and guidance.

There were robust quality assurance systems and a range of policies and procedures to enable people to receive safe, effective care and support in their own homes.

The manager had recently been nominated and won a regional registered care managers award. They had implemented a large variety of schemes, incentives and improved a range of policies and procedures to ensure all people and staff benefited from the best possible support and care.