Bluebird Care (Swindon) is a domiciliary care service that provides personal care to people living in their own homes in Swindon and the surrounding areas. Not everyone using Bluebird Care receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with personal care. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. On the day of the inspection the service was supporting 43 people.

There was 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.

At the last inspection in April 2016, the service was rated Good.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good overall.

The service improved and was exceptionally caring. The feedback received from people and their relatives reflected the staff were very compassionate, kind and established positive and meaningful caring relationships. People referred to staff as ‘angels’ and told us that staff were ‘like friends’.

The caring nature of the service was promoted by the management who told us, “We stress that we’re not an agency, we are a care company”. The senior team led staff by example and this successfully contributed to creating an established and caring team.

Staff exceeded in recognising what was important to people and that even the little things made a huge difference to people. There was evidence the staff often went ‘the extra mile’ to meet people’s needs and improve their lives. This caring approach was also visible within the team with the staff being very caring to one another and toward the local community.

Staff respecting people’s privacy and dignity at all times. People were supported to be as independent as possible so they could continue to live their life in a way they wanted.

All people and relatives, without an exception said they would definitely recommend this service to family and friends.

People received safe care and treatment. People complimented the continuity of care provided by regular staff which contributed to building meaningful relationships. People continued to receive their medicines safely and as prescribed. Risks to people’s individual conditions and well-being were assessed, recorded and updated when people’s circumstances changed. There were sufficient staff to keep people safe.

People received support that met their needs and the service remained flexible to changing people’s needs. People’s rights to make their own decisions were respected. People remained well supported to maintain healthy diet and access health services if required.

The service remained well-led. The provider’s quality assurance processes remained effective and there was a focus on improvement. People and staff were involved and listened to. The service worked well in partnership with other agencies, social and health professionals and external organisations.

The inspection took place on 14 April 2016 and was announced with 48 hours' notice.

Bluebird Care (Swindon) is a Domiciliary Care Agency (DCA) registered to provide personal care in people’s own homes. The agency office is based in Swindon. At the time of this inspection 54 people were supported by the agency.

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 felt safe. Staff had the knowledge and training to recognise and report concerns. Risk assessments were in place for most areas, although a manual handling risk assessment was needed for one person re hoisting. Medicines were mostly managed safely. The transcription of prescriptions to the MAR sheets by the service should be checked by another person to ensure accuracy. Handwritten MAR sheets need to be checked by another person. Staff and customers feel there are adequate staff to keep people safe.

People were supported by staff that had the training and support by management to deliver effective care and carry out their roles and responsibilities. Consent to care was sought by staff before care was undertaken. People’s hydration and nutrition was well managed. People were supported to have access to health professionals where needed.

People had caring staff who took the time to get to know those they supported. People were provided with information about their care and privacy and dignity was respected and promoted.

People’s care plans were accurate, up to date and contained personalised information about people’s care and emotional needs and relevant personal history. People knew how to complain and complaints were responded to in time with policy. Regular reviews of people’s care needs had taken place.

The registered manager and provider promoted a positive culture that meant people had personalised care and felt involved in this. The service was well managed with staff commenting how supported they felt and how much they enjoyed their jobs. Records were well kept and up to date which meant care was monitored closely. Quality assurance was monitored and actioned if changes or improvements were needed.