The inspection took place on 19 and 20 March 2018 and was announced.

Bluebird Care (New Forest) is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. The service is registered to provide care for people living with dementia, learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, older people, physical disability, sensory impairment and younger adults. At the time of this inspection the service provided care and support to 59 people, seven of which were receiving 24 hour live in care.

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 received effective care from trained staff who had exceptional skills and knowledge to meet people’s individual needs and choices.

People were cared for by exceptional staff who provided kind, compassionate and respectful care. They treated people as individuals and involved people and their families in their planned personalised care.

The leadership and management of the service was outstanding. There was a well organised management team who had clear roles and responsibilities. The registered manager acted as a role model for staff.

The management team promoted strong values and a person centred approach. There was an open culture where ‘lessons learnt’ were encouraged.

The service actively promoted good community links. Staff were regularly involved in fundraising events for local charities and worked alongside and supported other organisations to raise awareness.

There were robust systems to assure quality and identify any potential improvements to the service. This meant people benefited from a constantly improving service that they were at the heart of.

Staff were motivated, passionate and proud of their jobs. They spoke positively about the management team and that they felt involved in the running of the service. Award ceremonies were held to recognise and celebrate good care from staff members.

Staff took account people’s wellbeing and what was important to them. They enhanced people’s quality of life as much as possible.

Staff went the ‘extra mile’ to support people and showed an outstanding kind and caring approach to people.

Staff completed annual development training on a number of subjects that related to the people they were supporting.

Staff were supported through one to one supervision, on site observations, team meetings and dedicated and responsive office staff and management.

People's rights were protected in line with the principles of the MCA. Staff were knowledgeable about the five principles of the act. This ensured people were supported in least restrictive ways and would enable people to have positive experiences.

Recruitment processes were robust to make sure people were cared for by suitable staff. There were sufficient numbers of staff deployed to meet people’s individual needs.

There was an effective complaints system in place. People told us they were confident to raise any issues about their care and that they would be listened to and addressed.

Systems were in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided.

Before people received any care they were asked for their consent and the provider acted in accordance with their wishes. We spoke with three people who used the service and the relative of one person who used the service. All four people we spoke with were positive about the service. One person who used the service said: “My care worker is fantastic. She is always very polite and asks me every time if I am happy for her to help me get dressed”.

Care workers recorded the care provided in “patient care records”. These were returned to the office on a monthly basis for checking by the registered manager. In addition the registered manager or supervisor carried out spot check observations of care workers. Spot checks could happen at any time. People who used the service and their family members confirmed frequent checks took place.

The registered manager told us that care workers were not allowed to work with people until they had completed safeguarding training. We confirmed that care workers had received safeguarding training by speaking with four of them and checking the providers training records. All four staff spoken to were aware of the service’s safeguarding and whistle-blowing policies and procedures.

There were effective recruitment and selection processes in place. All candidates were invited to complete a questionnaire and attend an interview with the registered manager. Interviews were based on standard questions and scenarios. Successful candidates had a two to three day induction which was based on the Skills for Care common induction standards.

The registered manager told us they received frequent informal comments on the service provided from their own contact with people who used the service. This was confirmed by people who used the service and their families.

Bluebird Care (New Forest) is a domiciliary care service providing a range of services including personal care for people in their own homes. There were 58 people using the service at the time of the inspection. The service provided support to older people some of who were living with dementia. The also supported people living with physical disabilities.

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 told us they felt safe and were confident in the staff that supported them. People were safe because staff understood their role and responsibilities to keep them safe from harm. Staff had a good knowledge of the provider’s whistleblowing policy and procedures which meant they were able to raise concerns to protect people from unsafe care.

Risks to people had been assessed and reviewed regularly to ensure people’s individual needs were being met safely.

Recruitment processes were robust to make sure people were cared for by suitable staff. There were sufficient numbers of staff deployed to meet people’s needs and to keep them safe from harm.

People were supported by staff who received regular training and support to help them provide effective care.

Staff understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and their responsibilities to ensure that people who were unable to make their own decisions about their care and support were protected.

People were supported by staff that promoted their independence, respected their dignity and maintained their privacy.

There was an effective complaints system in place. People told us they were confident to raise any issues about their care and that they would be listened to and addressed.

People told us the service was well-led and managed by an effective and organised management team. People had confidence in the provider and staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities.

The culture in the service was open, inclusive and transparent. Staff were supported, felt valued and were listened to by the management team. Staff were confident to raise any concerns they had and bring forward ideas that could make improvements to the service.

Systems were in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided.