Blue Arrow Care Limited

Blue Arrow Care Limited is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to adults living in their own homes. The Care Quality Commission (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. At the time of our inspection 62 older people were receiving a home care service from this provider. This included 5 people who received full-time packages of care from live-in-staff.

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

People were supported to develop and maintain relationships to avoid social isolation and participate in recreational activities both at home and in the wider community. This included regular in-person and/or telephone contact with people at risk of becoming social isolated, as well as ongoing opportunities to join in a variety of community-based social activities and events. This enabled people to live fulfilling life’s that reflected their social interests and wishes, and to stay in contact with people that were important to them, such as family and friends. People spoke positively about the providers companionship programme and the manager who was responsible for meeting people’s social needs and wishes and ensuring they avoided social isolation, especially for people who lived alone.

People and their relatives told us that they had a very positive experience receiving care at home from this domiciliary care agency. Typical comments included, “The carers are all really kind, helpful and reliable, which is exactly what you want from a home care company…Everything runs like clockwork” and “I am so grateful to have carers look after my [family member] who are always smiling, cheerful and gregarious...We couldn’t manage without Blue Arrow.”

People were supported by enough staff who had been safely recruited. However, we received mixed comments from people about staff time. We discussed this staff coordination issue with the managers at the time of our inspection who acknowledged this was an issue. The registered manager told us they were in the process of improving how they monitored and managed staff calls visit by creating a new managerial post specifically to monitor staff time keeping and increasing the number of in-person spot checks by the office based managers conducted on staff during their call visits. Progress made by the provider to achieve this stated aim will be closely monitored by the CQC.

People received continuity of care from the same small group of dedicated staff who were familiar with their needs, daily routines and preferences. The fitness and suitability of staff to work in adult social care had been thoroughly assessed as part of the providers comprehensive checks on prospective new recruits. People were protected against the risk of avoidable harm by staff who knew how to keep them safe. People were confident any concerns they raised would be listened to and dealt with appropriately. Staff followed current best practice guidelines regarding the prevention and control of infection including, those associated with COVID-19. Medicines systems were well-organised, and people received their prescribed medicines as and when they should.

People were cared for by staff who were suitably trained and supported. Assessments of people’s support needs and wishes were carried out before they were provided a home care service. Where staff were responsible for assisting people to eat and drink, their dietary needs and wishes were assessed and met. People were supported to stay healthy and well, and to access relevant community health and social care services as and when required. 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.

People were treated equally and had their human rights and diversity respected, including their cultural and spiritual needs and wishes. Staff treated people with dignity and respect and upheld their right to privacy. People typically described staff as “friendly” and “kind.” People were encouraged and supported to maintain their independent living, and do as much for themselves as they were willing and capable of doing so safely.

People's care plans were person-centred, detailed and kept up to date, which helped staff provide them with the individualised care at home they needed and wanted. Staff ensured they communicated and shared information with people in a way they could easily understand. People were encouraged to make decisions about the care and support they received at home and staff respected their informed choices and decisions. Where appropriate, people's end of life wishes, and contacts were known and recorded for staff to refer to.

People were complimentary about the way the office-based managers ran the service, and how approachable they all were. The quality and safety of the service people received was routinely monitored by the managers, who recognised the importance of learning lessons when things went wrong. The managers promoted an open and inclusive culture which sought the views of people, their relatives and staff. The provider worked in close partnership with other health and social care professionals and agencies to plan and deliver people's packages of care at home.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

This service was re-registered with us on 17 February 2023 and this is the first inspection. The last rating for the service at the previous premises was good, published on 31 May 2018.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect. If we receive any concerning information, we may inspect sooner.