About the service:

Bluebird Care (Bromsgrove & Redditch) is a domiciliary care provider supporting people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection they were supporting 77 people, 47 of whom were receiving personal care.

People’s experience of using this service:

People using the service benefitted from outstanding care, delivered in a manner which was personal to them and based on their assessed needs. People we spoke with praised both the care workers and the management of the service for their dedication and high quality of care. We spoke with 13 people and relatives, all of who told us they were exceptionally happy with the support they received, rated the service as outstanding, frequently scoring it as ten out of ten, and would highly recommend the provider to other people. One person told us, “It could not be better. Runs excellently in my opinion.”

People told us they felt safe when being supported with care and said all the care staff worked in a way that respected their privacy and dignity. They told us they looked on care staff as friends and welcomed them onto their homes. The service had a culture of treating people in the manner staff would like their own relatives cared for. This ethos was infused throughout the service, including care staff, office staff and the provider. Staff told us they felt valued by the organisation and said Bluebird Care (Bromsgrove and Redditch) was very different to other companies they had worked for. One care worker told us, “They care about staff as well as the customers. I think they are outstanding because they are amazing - we are one big family.”

People told us staff often went beyond their scheduled duties, supporting them by doing extra work in the home or helping them deal with correspondence or arranging appointments. People also told us the service would take on the responsibility of arranging additional equipment or services. Some staff supported people outside their normal working hours. The provider operated an open-door policy and people and relatives told us they could visit the office base at any time for a chat and a coffee. The service also ran regular coffee mornings to support people with socialisation and allow them to meet with staff informally. Additionally, the service held an annual Christmas party. People told us they enjoyed these events.

Staff told us they were very happy working for the service. They confirmed they could access a range of training and development opportunities and were well supported by senior staff in the organisation. They felt there was an extremely positive culture in the organisation and felt valued.

More information about the service is contained in the full report

Rating at last inspection: At the last inspection the service was rated as good.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on previous rating. The service remains good but is rated outstanding in care.

Follow up: Going forward we will continue to monitor this service and plan to inspect in line with schedule for those services rated as Good.

This inspection was announced and took place on 9 and 12 November 2015. We gave the provider 48 hours’ of our intention to undertake the inspection. This was because the service provides domiciliary care to people in their own homes and we needed to make sure someone would be available at the office.

Bluebird Care (Bromsgrove and Redditch) is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes. At time of inspection 43 people received regulated activity out of a total of 92.

There was a registered manager in place. 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.

People were safe and cared for by staff who had a clear understanding of the risk associated with people’s needs and who demonstrated knowledge of the different types of potential abuse to people and how to respond. People had their individual risks assessed and had plans in place to manage them. Medicines were administered by staff that had received training to do this. The provider had procedures in place to check that people received their medicines as prescribed to effectively and safely meet their health needs.

Staff had been recruited following appropriate checks and the provider had arrangements in place to make sure that there were sufficient care staff to provide support to people in their own homes. People told us they received reliable care from a regular team of staff who understood their preferences for care and support.

People were listened to and were involved in making decisions about their care and support. Staff understood they could only care for and support people who consented to being cared for. People told us that they were happy with the way in which staff supported them with preparation of meals and that staff ensured a choice.

The service was caring, people told us how they enjoyed the social events arranged by the provider and that staff were caring and supportive in the support they provided. Staff provided support that ensured people were treated with privacy and dignity. People were supported by staff to maintain their independence.

People were encouraged to express their views and give feedback about their care. People said staff listened to them and they felt confident they could raise any issues should the need arise and that action would be taken

Staff felt supported by the registered manager and that the provider gave them opportunity to progress. The registered manager was committed to developing new initiatives to support the care provided to people.

The provider ensured regular checks were completed to monitor the quality of care that people received and look at where improvements could be made.

People were positive about the care and support they received and the service as a whole.