The inspection took place on the 19 June 2018 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a care at home service. We wanted to be sure that someone would be in to speak with us.

Bluebird Care (Sussex Weald) is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses in the community and provides a service to adults. Not everyone using the service received the regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating.

On the day of the inspection the service was supporting 72 people with a range of health and social care needs, such as people with a physical disability and people living with dementia. Support was tailored according to people’s assessed needs within the context of people’s individual preferences and lifestyles to help people to live and maintain independent lives and remain in their homes.

At the last inspection on 13 January 2016, the service was rated as good in the areas of Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the overall rating of Good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

Systems remained in place to protect people from abuse and staff received training in their responsibilities to safeguard people. Risks relating to people's care were reduced as the provider assessed and managed risks effectively.

People's medicines were managed safely by staff. People remained supported by staff who the provider checked were suitable to work with them. In addition, there were enough staff to care for people.

People were encouraged to live healthy lives and received food of their choice. People received support with their day to day healthcare needs.

People continued to receive care in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and staff received training on the Act to help them understand their responsibilities in relation to it.

Staff understood people's needs and preferences and people were encouraged to maintain their independence. Staff maintained people's dignity and treated them with respect. People were encouraged to maintain relationships with those who were important to them.

People's needs and preferences continued to be assessed. People's care plans were sufficiently detailed to Inform staff about people's needs and to guide staff in caring for them. People's care was planned and delivered in response to their needs.

Staff remained kind and caring and had developed good relationships with people. People told us they were comfortable in the presence of staff.

People were informed of how to complain and the provider responded to complaints appropriately. The provider communicated openly with people and staff. Staff worked closely with professionals such as social workers and district nurses.

Quality assurance and information governance systems remained in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service. People and relatives all told us that they were happy with the service provided and the way it was managed.

Further information is in the detailed findings below

The inspection took place on the 13 January 2016 and was announced. Forty eight hour’s notice of the inspection was given to ensure that the people we needed to speak to were available in the office.

Bluebird Care Sussex Weald is a domiciliary care service which provides personal care and support services for a range of people living in their own homes. These included older people, people living with dementia and people with a physical disability. At the time of our inspection 93 people were receiving a personal care service.

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.

The experiences of people were positive. People told us they felt safe, that staff were kind and the care they received was good. One person told us “I feel very safe with the carers, they are very friendly and I feel comfortable with them”.

There were good systems and processes in place to keep people safe. Assessments of risk had been undertaken and there were clear instructions for staff on what action to take in order to mitigate them. Staff knew how to recognise the potential signs of abuse and what action to take to keep people safe. The registered manager made sure there was enough staff at all times to meet people’s needs. When the provider employed new staff at the service they followed safe recruitment practices.

Assessments were undertaken to identify people’s support needs and care plans were developed outlining how these needs were to be met. We found that care plans were detailed which enabled staff to provide the individual care people needed. People told us they were involved in the care plans and were consulted about their care to ensure wishes and preferences were met. Staff worked with other healthcare professionals to obtain specialist advice about people’s care and treatment.

The provider had arrangements in place for the safe administration of medicines. People were supported to receive their medicine when they needed it. People were supported to maintain good health and had assistance to access to health care services when needed.

The service considered peoples capacity using the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) as guidance. People’s capacity to make decisions had been assessed. Staff observed the key principles in their day to day work checking with people that they were happy for them to undertake care tasks before they proceeded.

People confirmed staff respected their privacy and dignity. Staff had a firm understanding of respecting people within their own home and providing them with choice and control. People were supported at mealtimes to access food and drink of their choice where needed.

There were clear lines of accountability. The service had good leadership and direction from the registered manager. Staff felt fully supported by management to undertake their roles. Staff were given training updates, supervision and development opportunities. For example staff were offered to undertake additional training and development courses to increase their understanding of needs of people using the service.

Feedback was sought by the registered manager through surveys which were sent to people and their relatives. Survey results were positive and any issues identified acted upon. People and relatives we spoke with were aware of how to make a complaint and felt they would have no problem raising any issues. The provider responded to complaints in a timely manner with details of any action taken.