Bluebird Care (Wandsworth)

Updated 2 July 2022

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

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. The service was given 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed all the information we had received about the service since the last inspection. 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 all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke in person with the registered manager. We spoke with 20 people and their relatives, and 16 staff to get their experience and views about the care provided. The health care professionals we contacted did not respond. We reviewed a range of records. This included eight people’s care and medicines records. We looked at eight staff files in relation to recruitment, training and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were checked including audits, policies and procedures. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We requested additional evidence to be sent to us after our inspection. This included staff rotas, spot checks, observations and audits. We received the information which was used as part of our inspection.

Updated 2 July 2022

About the service

Bluebird Care (Wandsworth) is a domiciliary care agency providing care and support to 157 people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection 96 people using the service were receiving personal care. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. 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.

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

People received a very safe service and the provider ensured staff a very safe environment to work in. There were robust systems and processes that protected and safeguarded people from abuse. Sufficient extremely well-trained staff were appropriately recruited and passionate about the person-centred care they provided and people they provided it to. Risks to people and staff were holistically assessed, managed in partnership with them, relatives and healthcare professionals, and monitored and updated when required. The provider reported, investigated and recorded accidents, incidents and safeguarding concerns appropriately and medicines were safely managed. The provider had robust infection prevention and control measures in place. This meant people could enjoy their lives safely.

The service was exceptionally well led and had an honest, open, and positive culture with clear and transparent leadership and management. People, relatives and staff said they felt very valued by the management team, who were approachable, listened and took prompt, responsive actions as required. Staff were aware of their responsibilities, accountability and understood what was expected of them. They were prepared to take responsibility and report any concerns they may have regarding the service provided and ways to improve it. The provider maximised the use of electronic systems and processes to monitor people's care experiences and proactively and creatively review service quality and make changes to improve the care and support people received. This was in a manner that best suited people. The provider established effective working partnerships that promoted the needs of people being met including outside its remit to reduce social isolation. This enhanced people’s quality of life.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 2 June 2018) and there were no breaches of regulations.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

As no concerns were identified in relation to the key questions is the service Effective, Caring and Responsive, we decided not to inspect them. Ratings from the previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

The overall rating for the service has changed to outstanding. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Bluebird Care (Wandsworth) on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.

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