Bluebird Care Hounslow & Chiswick

On this page

• Overview
• Learning culture
• Safe systems, pathways and transitions
• Safeguarding
• Involving people to manage risks
• Safe environments
• Safe and effective staffing
• Infection prevention and control
• Medicines optimisation

People received safe care and treatment. There were thorough systems for learning when things went wrong and making improvements. There were systems to help safeguard people from abuse. Staff assessed and planned for risks relating to people's safety and wellbeing. People were involved in these assessments and were able to make choices about risks. There were enough staff and they had been trained and supported to understand about their roles and responsibilities. People received their medicines in a safe way and as prescribed. There were systems to help prevent and control infection.

This service scored 72 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

People felt that incidents and complaints were appropriately dealt with. They were able to speak with the agency and told us changes had been made when things went wrong.

Staff told us there was an opportunity to learn when things went wrong.

The provider had improved their processes for identifying and learning from adverse events. All accidents, incidents and complaints were recorded. The provider had a system which ensured the management team had good oversight, carried out thorough investigations, shared learning with staff and made changes to put things right.

People told us they received support and information about accessing other services when needed.

Staff told us they identified when people needed additional support and reported this to managers and the person's representatives. They liaised with other professionals to help ensure people's needs were met.

External partners told us the agency provided flexible support including emergency support when people needed this.

The management team told us they had systems in place to support people with their care journeys and accessing different services, such as healthcare services.

People told us they felt safe and well cared for.

Staff explained they had undertaken training about safeguarding. Some staff were unable to tell us how they would recognise or report abuse. We shared this with the management team who agreed to ensure there were further discussions about this.

There were procedures designed to help safeguard people from abuse. The provider had liaised with the local authority to report and investigate allegations of abuse and to help keep people safe.

People using the service and their relatives told us risks were well managed.

Staff explained the care plans included information about risks and the support people needed to manage these.

Risks to people's safety and wellbeing were assessed and planned for. Risk assessments were regularly reviewed and updated when needed. The provider assessed risks within people's home environments and worked with others to help reduce risks they identified. Staff received training to understand how to care for people safely, including how to support them to move and using equipment.

People were cared for in their own home environments.

Staff did not have any concerns about safe environments.

The provider assessed people's home environments and made sure these were safe. They also assessed equipment was safe to use. They discussed any concerns with the person and/or their families

Most people told us they were cared for by the same regular care workers. They told us they generally arrived on time and apologised if they were running late. Some people told us they did not always have the same care workers and some had concerns about the timing of care visits. We shared this feedback with the management team.

Staff told us they undertook a range of training which helped them understand their roles and responsibilities.

There were enough suitable staff. The provider did not take on new care packages if they did not have enough staff. They had recently improved systems of allocating staff to help make sure people had the same team of regular care workers. We analysed records of care visits and saw most people had received care on time, staff had stayed for the agreed length of time and people were cared for by familiar regular staff. There were suitable systems for recruiting and selecting staff. These included checks on staff and a thorough induction and training. However, we saw that references were not always obtained for some of the newly employed staff. The manager told us these had been requested but had not been provided. We discussed this with the management team so they understood the need to assess risks when they did not receive all the required information. The management team tested staff knowledge, skills and competencies. There were regular meetings with staff to discuss their work. However, some staff had not had regular individual supervisions or appraisals. This meant there was a risk they were not getting the support, guidance or information they needed. We discussed this with the management team who had already identified improvements were needed and had an action plan to address this.

People told us the care workers wore personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves and aprons. They explained care workers washed their hands and followed good hygiene practices.

Staff told us they had received training about infection prevention and control. They had the information and equipment they needed for their roles.

The provider had procedures for infection prevention and control. They made sure staff were aware of these.

People received their medicines safely and as prescribed. They were happy with the support they received with this.

Staff told us they had undertaken training about handling medicines. They explained managers assessed their knowledge and skills around medicines management.

The provider had made improvements to the way medicines were managed. There was clear information about people's medicines needs. Staff recorded when they administered medicines using and electronic system which alerted managers if there were problems. The provider investigated all medicines errors and incidents. They worked closely with GPs and other health care professionals to make sure people were safe following incidents. Staff received updated training and were assessed to make sure they improved when things went wrong with medicines.