Bluebird Care (Herefordshire) is registered to provide personal care for people who live in their homes. At the time of our inspection 24 people were receiving personal care.

The inspection took place on 15 September 2016 and was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice of the inspection because we needed to be sure that they would be in.

A registered manager was not 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 was run. The provider was taking reasonable steps to address this.

People were supported by staff who understood their individual risks and who knew what actions to take if they had any concerns for people’s safety. Risks to people’s health and well-being were assessed and people were supported to receive the support they needed. Where people wanted assistance to take their medicines this was given by staff who knew how to do this safely. People's care plans gave clear guidance for staff to follow in order to promote people’s safety.

Staff had the knowledge and skills they needed to care for people and were encouraged to obtain further training to meet people’s needs. Staff understood how to promote people’s rights and encouraged people to have enough to eat and drink to remain well. People received the support they needed to encourage them to see their GPs when needed, or to have care from emergency services if this was required.

People were very positive about the staff who cared for them and had built good relationships with staff. Staff understood what was important to people. People were treated with dignity and respect and dignity. Staff cared for people in ways which helped them to maintain and celebrate their independence. People and their relatives could rely on staff to provide the care they needed.

Staff encouraged people to decide how they would like their care to be planned and given. Care plans and risk assessments were updated as people's needs changed. Where people were not able to make all of their own decisions the views of their relatives and key parties were listened to. People and their relatives knew how to raise any concerns or complaints about the service. Systems for managing complaints were in place, so any lessons would be learnt.

People and their relatives and staff were encouraged to provide their views on the quality of the service. The provider and senior staff checked the quality of the care people received. Changes had been introduced to develop people’s care and the service further. Staff understood how the senior team and manager expected people’s care to be given, so people would receive the care they needed in the ways they preferred. Staff told us they felt supported to make suggestions for developing the care people received further.