Bluebird Care Clapham and Streatham is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care and support to people in their own homes. Not everyone using the service may receive the regulated activity; personal care. CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of the inspection the provider was providing ‘personal care’ to 23 people.

This inspection took place on the 3rd of October 2018. We gave the provider two days’ notice of the inspection as we needed to make sure the registered manager would be available. This was our first inspection of the service under this provider.

The service had a registered manager in post. 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.

The service had safeguarding and whistleblowing procedures in place and staff had a clear understanding of these procedures. There was enough staff available to meet people’s needs. Risks to people were assessed to ensure their needs were safely met. Appropriate recruitment checks took place before staff started work. There were systems in place for monitoring, investigating and learning from incidents and accidents. Peoples medicines were safely managed, and people were receiving their medicines as prescribed by health care professionals. Staff had received training in infection control and food hygiene, and they were aware of the steps to take to reduce the risk of the spread of infections.

People’s care needs were assessed before they started using the service. Staff received supervision and training relevant to people’s needs. People were supported to maintain a balanced diet. People had access to a GP and other health care professionals when they needed them. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People received personalised care that met their needs. People told us staff were kind and caring and their privacy and dignity was respected. People and their relatives, where appropriate, had been consulted about their care and support needs. People knew how to complain if they need to. Staff had received training on equality and diversity and they supported people according to their diverse needs. People could understand written information provided to them however information was available in different formats when it was required. No one using the service required support with end of life care, however the service had access to health care professionals for this type of support if it was required.

The registered manager knew the service well and was knowledgeable about the requirements of a registered manager and their responsibilities regarding the Health and Social Care Act 2014. They monitored the quality of service that people received. They used feedback from people during telephone monitoring calls and spot checks to evaluate and make improvements at the service. The registered manager and staff worked closely with health care professionals to ensure people received good quality care. Staff said they enjoyed working at the service and they received good support from the registered manager, customer manager, care coordinators and supervisors. There was an out of hours on call system in operation that ensured management support and advice was available for staff when they needed it.