We carried out an announced inspection of the service on 19 July 2018. Bluebird Care South Lincolnshire is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. It currently provides a service to older adults. Not everyone using Bluebird Care South Lincolnshire 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. Where they do, we also take into account any wider social care provided.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. 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.

At the time of the inspection, 16 people received some element of support with their personal care. This is the service’s first inspection under its current registration.

People felt safe when supported by staff. People were protected from avoidable harm. People received support from a consistent team of staff who arrived on time for each call. Robust staff recruitment procedures were in place. People’s medicines were managed safely. Staff understood how to reduce the risk of the spread of infection. The provider had processes in place to investigate accidents and incidents and to learn from mistakes. However, the paperwork used to record these incidents required improving by always recording that the registered manager had carried out a review.

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 support this practice. However, some improvements were required to ensure all people’s rights under the Mental Capacity Act (2005) were respected.

People’s care was provided in line with current legislation and best practice guidelines. People felt staff understood how to support them. Staff were well trained; felt supported and understood people’s needs. Staff performance was regularly monitored. People were supported with their meals where needed. Information was available to support staff with caring for people. Other health and social care agencies were involved where further support was needed for people.

People liked the staff and found them to kind and caring. Relatives felt assured that staff treated their family members with respect, dignity and compassion. People’s independence was encouraged and people were able to contribute to decisions about their care.

People were assessed before joining the service to ensure their needs could be met. People’s care records were person centred and staff provided them with support in the way they wanted. People were supported with following their hobbies and interests. People felt care staff responded effectively to complaints or concerns raised. People’s diverse needs were discussed with them and respected. Efforts had been made to discuss end of life care with people, however records relating to this element of care required more detail.

The registered manager was well liked and respected by all. They understood the requirements of their role and did so in line with their registration with the CQC. They ensured all notifiable incidents were reported to the CQC. High quality staff performance was rewarded. People and staff were given the opportunity comment on how the service could be developed and improved. Auditing processes were in place. The provider supported the registered manager to carry out their role effectively and held them to account. The provider was continually looking for innovative ways to improve the quality of the service people received. The service had developed positive links with the l