Bluebird Care Wandsworth (Corden Assist Ltd.) is a home care and live in care agency, covering the London Borough of Wandsworth. This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to mainly older adults. At the time of the inspection they were providing a domiciliary care service to approximately 130 people. Not everyone using Bluebird Care (Wandsworth) 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.

This inspection took place on 6 and 8 February 2018 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be in. At our previous inspection on 25 November and 3 December 2015 we found the provider was meeting regulations.

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good.

At this inspection, the service remained Good.

There was a registered manager 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.

People and their relatives were extremely happy with the service and complimented both the care workers and the management of the service. They said the long time that care workers had supported them meant that they were able to establish close relationships with them and an emotional connection.

People’s care and support were assessed and delivered according to their wishes. Where appropriate, family members and friends were involved in people’s care. Risks to people in relation to their mobility, personal care and medicines were assessed and included control measures needed to minimise potential harm to people. Care records, including risk assessments, medicine records and support plans were recorded on an electronic system and were accessible via a mobile phone app to care workers.

Care workers told us they felt well supported and received regular training. The provider had robust recruitment checks in place which included psychometric tests to gauge care workers suitability for a job in care. New care workers received a thorough induction and regular mandatory training thereafter. People using the service were involved in the induction training to give a flavour of the ‘customer experience’ to care workers. Staff received regular supervision and spot checks which helped to ensure people received good support. Care workers received recognition for outstanding work and length of service.

The provider was involved in a number of community initiatives and employed a community liaison manager to establish close working links with other health and social care providers and voluntary organisations in the community but to also establish closer links with the people and signpost these services to people and carers.

There was an open culture at the service where people and their relatives felt confident raising concerns. They told us the provider was very good at communicating with them.

The provider continued to grow its staff and management team in line with the requirements of the business as it expanded. There was a business improvement plan which was reviewed on a regular basis. This included a number of areas that the provider was looking to improve, including the greater use of technology and aligning some practices in line with NICE guidelines.

The service scored very highly on the Bluebird Care quality assurance audit and regularly sought the views of people through surveys and monitoring checks.

We received

This inspection took place on 25 November and 3 December and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service; we needed to be sure that someone would be in. This service was previously registered under a different name; this was the first inspection of this service under its new registration.

Bluebird Care Wandsworth (Corden Assist Ltd.) is a home care and live in care agency, covering the London Borough of Wandsworth. At the time of the inspection they were providing a domiciliary care service to approximately 100 people. There was a registered manager at the service. 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 that we spoke with told us they did not have any concerns about their safety. Care workers were given training in safeguarding were able to identify different types of abuse and told us what steps they would take if they had concerns for people’s wellbeing. We found that the provider took action when concerns were raised and worked with other agencies to ensure people were kept safe.

People told us that staff were caring and respected their privacy and maintained their dignity. Where possible, people were given regular care workers and the provider tried to ensure that people were supported by care workers that had similar interests to them or someone they requested, this meant they were responsive to the needs of people using the service

Thorough assessments took place before people started to use the service. People’s support needs and preferences in how they wanted to receive care were documented and then developed into care plans. Risk assessments were completed for individual support needs including medicines management, moving and handling and nutrition, these had associated control measures which helped to ensure people were supported in a safe manner. People’s support needs were reviewed every quarter.

Care workers told us they enjoyed the work they did and received excellent support from the management team. Due to a period of growth, the provider had expanded its management team to meet the needs of the business and as a result there were opportunities for promotion within the organisation.

There were robust recruitment checks in place for staff. Care workers were required to complete an application form, provide proof of address, identity, right to work in the UK and completed criminal record checks. There was a comprehensive induction programme in place for new care workers and they received ongoing support through their probation period by an assigned mentor. New care workers shadowed more experienced care workers before they started to deliver personal care independently.

People were encouraged to raise concerns or complaints through regular monitoring visits that took place. Where complaints were made, the provider took action to try and improve the service.

Robust quality systems were in place including unannounced observations, review of support needs, incident and accident monitoring. The provider carried out surveys to gather the views of people using the service and there was an ongoing improvement plan in place which was reviewed every three months.