This announced inspection took place between 27 March and 10 April 2018. The office visit took place on 6 April 2018.

Bluebird Care (Eastbourne and Wealden) is a domiciliary care agency and provides personal care to people living in their own homes. It provides a service to older adults, people who lived with dementia, people who lived with learning disabilities and younger adults with physical disabilities. At the time of the inspection, the service was supporting 40 people in Eastbourne and Wealden. Not everyone using Bluebird Care (Eastbourne and Wealden) receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care'; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating and drinking.

At the last inspection in June 2015, the key question of effective required improvement as staff needed to gain more confidence and understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). The key questions for safe, caring, responsive and well led were rated good and there was an overall rating of good. Staff had received further training in MCA and were now fully confident in how to gain consent and the key question effective that required improvement is now rated good.

There was 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People told us they were very satisfied with the care and support that Bluebird Care (Eastbourne and Wealden) provided.

People who used the service had the capacity to make decisions about what they did and the choices they made. People were supported to have choice and control of their lives and staff enabled people in the least restrictive way possible: the policies and systems supported this practice.

There were systems in place to protect people from harm, including how medicines were managed. Staff had been trained in how to recognise and respond to abuse and understood their responsibility to report any concerns to the management team. Safe recruitment processes were followed and appropriate checks had been undertaken, which made sure only suitable staff were employed to care for people.

Risks to people's safety were assessed and managed to keep them safe. They were supported by sufficient numbers of a well-trained staff group who arrived on time and supported them in the time allocated in their care package. People who received medicines were supported in a safe way as staff had had the necessary training to administer medicines safely. They were protected from the risks of infection through good working practices by staff.

People's care was delivered in line with legislation and evidenced based practice. People who used the service had the capacity to make decisions about what they did and the choices they made. People were supported to have choice and control of their lives and staff supported people in the least restrictive way possible: the policies and systems supported this practice. Staff received regular training in all aspects of their role and received regular supervision from the registered manager. Where people were supported with their nutritional needs, staff showed a good awareness of their dietary needs and where to get further support should this be required. Staff worked with people, their relatives and health professionals to manage people's health needs, making appropriate referrals for individuals when necessary.

People who used the service felt they were treated with kindness and said their privacy and dignity was respected. Staff had an understanding of legislation designed to protect people’s rights and were clear that people had the right to make their own choices.

Care plans provided comprehensive information about ho

This inspection took place on 12 June 2015 and was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice. Bluebird care (Eastbourne & Wealden) is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of inspection there were 29 people using the service.

The service had a registered manager. 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 asked for their consent appropriately. The registered manager and staff had a basic understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). This legislation provides a legal framework for acting and making decisions on behalf of adults who lack the capacity to make decisions for themselves. The registered manager had taken action to ensure they developed their own and staff members knowledge of the MCA.

There were enough staff to meet people’s care needs and staff had regular training, supervision and appraisal to support them. Staff said: “I’m really impressed with the level of training” and “the training is brilliant”. All of the appropriate pre-employment checks had been completed before staff began working for the provider.

People who used the service told us they felt safe. One person told us: “I feel very safe with my carers. They always turn up on time and stay for the full time.” Staff knew how to recognise the signs of abuse and what to do if they thought someone was at risk. Risk assessments had been completed and plans to manage identified risks were in place. People were supported to take their medicines safely when needed.

Incidents and accidents were thoroughly investigated and action taken to reduce the risk of them being repeated. The registered manager and staff understood the importance of learning from incidents so they could make improvements to the service.

People were supported to eat and drink enough and staff knew what to do if they thought someone was at risk of malnutrition or dehydration. People’s day to day health care needs were met.

People gave us very positive feedback about the care they received. Comments included: “They are very caring and I am very fond of two of them because they treat me like a member of their family” and: “The care is excellent”. People were able to express their views and preferences about their care and these were acted on. People were treated with respect and their privacy was protected.

People’s care needs were regularly assessed and people and those important to them were involved in making decisions about their care. People knew how to make a complaint or raise concerns with the registered manager and told us these were acted on when they did so. There was an appropriate complaints system in place and any complaints had been thoroughly investigated.

The provider carried out regular audits to ensure they were meeting the requirements of the regulations. People were asked for their feedback about the quality of the service, and where areas for improvement were identified appropriate action was taken.

The registered manager knew the people who use the service well and was aware of the attitudes and behaviours of staff. People said there was good communication with the service and it was well managed. All of the registrations requirements were met and records were good.