Bluebird Care (Islington) & Bluebird Care (Hackney) is a domiciliary care agency providing support to adults in their own homes in Hackney and Islington. At the time of the inspection there were 75 people using the service.

The service was last inspected in November and December 2015 and was rated Good. However, the service needed to make improvements to be safe. The written risk assessments needed to be clear and accurate to keep people safe from the risk of harm. At this inspection we found the service remained Good and the service had made the necessary improvements to risk assessments to keep people safe from harm.

People felt safe and were protected from the risk of abuse. Staff were knowledgeable about safeguarding adults procedures and knew what to do if they had concerns about the people using the service. The staff were suitable to work in the caring profession and were recruited appropriately.

People were protected from risks to their health and wellbeing because risk assessments were accurate and provided sufficient detail to staff about how to manage specific risks.

Medicines were well managed and the service conducted regular audits of medicines administration.

There were enough staff to meet people’s needs, however people reported staff were sometimes late for visits. Staff were trained to carry out their roles and newly appointed staff were supported in their role by a robust induction period. Staff developed compassionate relationships with people using the service and respected their diversity and dignity.

People were supported to get enough to eat and drink and people had access to healthcare professionals.

People and their relatives were involved in planning their care and care records included information about people's background, likes and dislikes and promoting their independence. 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.

There was a positive and open culture at the service. People using the service and their relatives felt they could raise concerns if necessary. The service had various quality assurance and monitoring mechanisms in place to improve the quality of care delivery.

The inspection took place on 30 November and 1 December 2015 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service for adults; we needed to be sure that someone would be in. This was our first inspection of this location since it’s registration with CQC. The service was previously registered at a different address.

Bluebird Care (Islington ) & Bluebird Care (Hackney) is a domiciliary care agency providing support to adults in their own homes in Hackney and Islington. At the time of the inspection there were 35 people using the service.

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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People were not always protected from risks to their health and wellbeing because risk assessments to guide staff were inconsistent and did not always provide sufficient detail for staff about how to manage specific risks.

There were enough staff to meet people’s needs however poor communication about the rota caused calls to be missed or late on an infrequent basis.

People felt safe and were protected from the risk of potential abuse by staff who were suitable to work in the caring profession.

Medicines were managed appropriately and recent recording errors had been picked up by the service and plans were in place to rectify the problem.

Staff were trained to carry out their roles and were supported by management by a robust induction period.

The provider followed the latest guidance and legal developments about obtaining consent to care. Staff used a range of communication methods to support people to express their views about their care.

People were supported to get enough to eat and drink and people had access to healthcare professionals.

Staff developed caring relationships with people using the service and respected people’s diversity and privacy. life histories were not always included in care plans to tell care staff how to support the individual but in practice, people’s consistent care staff provided care tailored to that individual.

The provider gave opportunities for people to feedback about the service and staff and relatives felt that the culture at the service was open and approachable. The service was organised in a way that promoted safe care through effective quality monitoring.