Bluebird Care (Rushcliffe & Melton) was rated Good overall at its April 2016 inspection, with four of five key questions rated Good; the Responsive domain required improvement due to inconsistent communication about care call changes and insufficient detail in some care plans. The registered manager responded promptly to inspection findings by introducing a late-call monitoring system and an action plan to improve care plan quality.
Concerns (4)
moderate
Communication with families
: “People told us that they were not always kept informed of changes to their care calls and expressed concern about the system used to deploy staff.”
moderateCare planning: “Care plans did not always contain sufficient detail about how people could be best supported in line with their preferences and with their medical conditions.”
moderateConsent / capacity: “capacity assessments had not been recorded for some of the people who used the service that may not have been able to make decisions themselves.”
minorMissed or late visits: “some people told us they were not always informed of changes and worried about late calls due to travelling times. A system for monitoring late calls was introduced following our feedback.”
Strengths
· People felt safe with care workers and staff demonstrated good knowledge of safeguarding responsibilities and reporting processes.
· Sufficient staffing levels maintained with a low number of missed care calls over the last three months.
· Medicines managed safely with staff training, spot checks, monthly MAR audits and clear recording of allergy and PRN information.
· Staff received comprehensive induction, relevant training, regular supervision and annual appraisals.
· Positive, caring relationships observed between staff and people; privacy, dignity and independence consistently promoted.
Quality-Statement breakdown (14)
safe: SafeguardingGood
safe: Staffing levelsGood
safe: Medication managementGood
safe: Risk assessment and recruitmentGood
effective: Staff training and competencyGood
effective: Consent and Mental Capacity ActGood
effective: Nutrition and healthcare supportGood
caring: Relationships and compassionGood
caring: Privacy, dignity and independenceGood
responsive: Communication about care call changesRequires improvement
responsive: Care plan detail and person-centred guidanceRequires improvement
Bluebird Care (Rushcliffe & Melton) is a Good-rated domiciliary care agency serving 56 older adults, with Outstanding well-led practice underpinned by exceptional leadership, continuous innovation and universal praise from people, relatives and staff. No regulatory breaches or failure themes were identified at this inspection.
Strengths
· Staff arrived on time, stayed for full call duration, and rotas ensured consistent staff matched to people's needs and preferences.
· Medicines were managed safely with real-time electronic alerts if a medicine was not administered after a call was logged.
· Outstanding leadership with a clear person-centred mission, continuous improvement culture, and universal praise from people, relatives and staff.
· Innovative initiatives including 'Meet my care team' cards, 'Grey Matters' dementia e-learning app, health checking service, and community engagement events.
· Robust governance including monthly 'start, stop, continue' directives, regular competency assessments, and open access to care records for remote relatives.
Quality-Statement breakdown (23)
safe: Systems and processes to safeguard people from the risk of abuseGood
safe: Assessing risk, safety monitoring and managementGood
safe: Staffing and recruitmentGood
safe: Using medicines safelyGood
safe: Preventing and controlling infectionGood
safe: Learning lessons when things go wrongGood
effective: Assessing people's needs and choices; delivering care in line with standards, guidance and the lawGood
effective: Staff support: induction, training, skills and experienceGood
effective: Supporting people to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced dietGood
effective: Ensuring consent to care and treatment in line with law and guidanceGood
effective: Staff working with other agencies to provide consistent, effective, timely careGood
effective: Supporting people to live healthier lives, access healthcare services and supportGood
caring: Ensuring people are well treated and supported; equality and diversityGood
caring: Supporting people to express their views and be involved in making decisions about their careGood
caring: Respecting and promoting people's privacy, dignity and independenceGood
responsive: Planning personalised care to meet people's needs, preferences, interests and give them choice and controlGood
responsive: Improving care quality in response to complaints or concernsGood
responsive: End of life care and supportGood
well-led: Planning and promoting person-centred, high-quality care and support; and how the provider understands and acts on duty of candour responsibilityOutstanding
well-led: Managers and staff being clear about their roles, and understanding quality performance, risks and regulatory requirementsOutstanding
well-led: Engaging and involving people using the service, the public and staff, fully considering their equality characteristicsOutstanding
well-led: Continuous learning and improving careOutstanding
well-led: Working in partnership with othersOutstanding