Bluebird Care Camden & Hampstead

Updated 11 January 2020

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 a single 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.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because 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

Before the inspection we reviewed information we held about the service, for example, statutory notifications. A notification is information about events which the provider is required to tell us about by law. 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.

During the inspection

During the inspection we spoke with the provider and registered manager. We also spoke with other staff members, including the customer care manager, two care co-ordinators including the live in care co-ordinator, the human resources manager and their assistant and five members of the care team. We spoke with seven people supported by the service, three family members and two local health and social care professionals.

Updated 11 January 2020

About the service

Bluebird Care Camden and Hampstead is a domiciliary care service providing care and support to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection the service was providing personal care to 63 people. This included people receiving a live-in care service.

The service works predominantly with older people living with age related conditions such as dementia. They also provide care and support to younger people with, for example, physical and sensory impairments, learning disabilities and mental health needs as required.

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

Staff supported people with personal care, access to the local community, shopping and preparing meals. Some people received 24-hour care to enable them to remain safely in their own homes. The care and support provided was personalised to people’s individual needs.

Staff had an excellent understanding of the care and support people required and provided this with in ways that were responsive to their needs and preferences. People's care and support had been planned and developed in partnership with them. People were regularly consulted about their views of the service. People and family members confirmed that they were happy with the care and support they received. Staff spoke positively about the people they supported. They described how they ensured that people’s dignity and privacy was maintained.

The provider and registered manager were passionate about the importance of ensuring that the service was flexible and responsive to people’s needs. People’s records showed that they had been supported to remain at home following interventions from the service in liaison with local health and social care professionals. The service had introduced an unobtrusive monitoring system. This had been used to reduce risks in relation to a person leaving their home at night and to reduce falls

There was an open, honest, caring and positive culture across the service and staff demonstrated a high value base. The registered manager and provider were supported by a team of exceptionally motivated and dedicated service managers and team leaders. The provider had invested in a range of staff benefits and rewards and had organised social and wellbeing events for staff. These were designed to increase motivation and staff told us that they appreciated this.

People consistently gave examples of the registered manager and provider and staff team as kind and caring people who maintained contact with them and responded to concerns. People and their family members told us that they would recommend the service to others.

The provider had invested in resources to ensure that added value was provided to meet people’s needs. For example, a staff member had been trained to provide health checks to people. This had resulted in prompt referrals to GPs where concerns had been identified. The introduction of a movement monitoring system had resulted in a reduction in risks to people.

The service worked with people holistically and staff understood the importance of ensuring that people were supported to maintain their interests and independence. People’s care plans included information about their preferences and interests along with guidance for staff on engaging with people to meet these. People and, where appropriate, their representatives were involved in decisions made about their care.

Systems, processes and practices were embedded to safeguard people from abuse and risk of harm. Staff understood their responsibilities in protecting people and the provider had taken immediate action to report concerns and suspicions about potential harm or abuse. Good practice guidance had been followed to keep people safe. Up to date risk assessments were in place to support people to take positive risks and remain safe.

Staffing levels were continuously reviewed to ensure there were enough staff to provide flexible and responsive care and support. Staff received regular training and supervision to ensure that they were skilled in providing care and support to people. Staff told us that they were encouraged to take qualifications in health and social care and to progress within the organisation.

Medicines were managed safely to ensure people received them safely and in accordance with their health needs and the prescriber's instructions.

Staff liaised with other health and social care professionals to ensure people's needs were safely and effectively met. The provider was actively engaged with local community-based services to ensure that people had access to additional support and up to date information where required.

The registered manager had ensured that regular monitoring of the quality of people’s care and support had taken place. The provider had introduced a new electronic monitoring system which enabled them to identify immediately if staff were late or had failed to complete people’s care records. Any failures were immediately addressed with the staff member concerned.

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.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Outstanding. (published 23 March 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.