This announced inspection took place on 16 January 2018. At the previous inspection in November 2015 the service met all regulations. During this inspection the services continues to be "Good".

This service is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. It provides a service to older adults and younger disabled adults. At the time of our visit there were 95 people using the service from several London boroughs.

On the day of our visit, 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 continued to feel safe receiving support from Bluebird Care Redbridge staff. Staff continued to receive safeguarding training and had a working knowledge of the safeguarding processes and how to raise a concern.

Medicines were managed safely by staff that had been assessed as competent. Staff demonstrated an understanding of the infection control principles and guidelines in place to prevent the spread of infection.

We saw an effective risk management and accident management process in place that ensured staff learnt from past incidents in order to improve practice.

People told us they were treated with dignity and respect. They reported that staff were polite and kind. They thought they were enough staff to meet their needs. Although they reported at times visits were later or earlier than planned.

Recruitment practices in place continued to ensure only staff that were suitable to work in a health and social care environment were employed. Staff were supported to develop their skills and knowledge through a comprehensive induction, annual appraisal, training, spot checks supervision and staff meetings. They were aware of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and how they applied it in practice.

Care plans remained up to date, person centred and outlined people’s goals and aspirations as well as outcomes and expectations. They were reviewed regularly together with people and those that mattered to them.

People including those with complex dietary requirements were supported to maintain a balanced diet that met their needs. They were enabled to access healthcare services in order to maintain their health.

People and their relatives told us the service continued to be well managed. They were aware of the complaints process and felt that any concerns raised were investigated and resolved with the exception of the ongoing visit times. We made a recommendation about informing people if there were any changes to staffing and visit times.

There were effective quality assurance systems in place to ensure the quality of care delivered was monitored and improved.

The inspection took place on 8 December 2015 and was announced. The service met legal requirements at our last inspection in September 2013.

Bluebird Care Redbridge provides personal care to over 100 people in the London borough of Redbridge and in Essex. They provide a service for older adults, some of whom may be living with dementia or may have a physical disability.

There was a registered manager in place on the day of our visit. 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 told us they felt safe and trusted the staff who looked after them. Staff were aware of the procedures to follow to ensure that medicines were handled safely. Risks to people and the environment were regularly assessed by the care supervisors in order to protect people from avoidable harm.

We found that there were robust recruitment checks that included the necessary disclosure and barring checks to ensure that staff were suitable to work in the health and social care environment.

The service ensured that there were enough staff available to cover for emergency absences and other leave in order to ensure that there were no missed visits.

People were supported by staff who were aware of the procedures in place to protect people from abuse. Staff were enabled to support people effectively by means of training, appraisal, regular spot checks and supervision.

Staff demonstrated an understanding of how they would obtain consent to care and an awareness of how the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards applied in practice.

People told us that they were treated with dignity and respect and that their wishes were respected. They were aware of how to make a complaint and thought that their complaint would be listened to and resolved by the registered manager.

People told us that they were supported to eat and drink sufficient amounts according to their tastes and preferences. Staff were aware of the procedures in place to refer people to other healthcare professionals when required.

The service had a positive culture that was open and inclusive. People and staff thought the management team including the directors were approachable.

Systems were in place to obtain and act on issues raised by people and staff quality checks were carried out by the managers in order to monitor and improve the quality of care delivered.

We visited Bluebird Care in April 2013 and people told us that they were happy with the service provided. However, we also found that some planned visits had not taken place and as a result of this people did not always experience care and support that met their needs. At this inspection we checked whether the provider had taken effective action to address these concerns.

We found that people’s care, health and welfare needs were being met. They were happy with the quality of care that they received. One person told us “I am more than pleased and feel confident and safe with them.” Another said “they are very good and I am so pleased to have the same carer every day. They never let me down." An improved system had been put in place to ensure staff were clear about the visits they needed to make and calls were not missed. One member of staff told us “we are more organised now and the system appears to be working. There have not been any more missed calls."

People told us that staff at Bluebird Care respected their privacy, dignity and independence. One person said “whatever I ask of them (staff) they do”. Other people told us that they were able to give their opinions about how they and their relatives were treated and cared for and that they were listened to.

We found that people were involved in making decisions about their own treatment and care and that care was planned and delivered according to assessed need. One person said “they are really very good”. However, we did find that on some occasions, through missed appointments, people had experienced care, treatment and support that had not met their needs.

There were processes in place to protect people from potential abuse. We found staff were supported to deliver care and treatment safely and that there were quality checks in place to ensure that people received safe care that met their needs.