Bluebird Care South Tyneside, Newcastle and Darlington

Staff were especially responsive and regularly went above and beyond to ensure people's needs were anticipated and met with the utmost dignity and respect. Health professionals praised the skills of staff, especially for caring for people with complex needs. Staff strived to ensure people received care in personalised and meaningful ways.

The director, registered manager and whole staff team worked enthusiastically to provide excellence in line with the service's values. People were central to how the service operated. Staff were flexible and adapted to people's changing needs.

There was a very strong ethos throughout the service of putting people first and a desire to continually improve. There were good opportunities for people and staff to give feedback about the service. Staff felt particularly valued and listened to. The provider was proactive about participating in joint working initiatives and sharing good practice.

The service had developed innovative ways of ensuring staff received excellent support and their wellbeing was enhanced. The provider was especially effective when working with other professionals to develop the skills of the staff team. People and staff were instrumental in the quality assurance system to drive sustained improvement.

People, relatives and staff said the service was safe. Staff understood the safeguarding and whistle blowing procedures; they knew how to report concerns and were confident to do so. Previous safeguarding concerns had been reported and investigated. People received care from a reliable and consistent team of staff. New staff were recruited safely. People received their prescribed medicines when they were due. Incidents and accidents were investigated thoroughly.

Staff were very well supported from when they first started working for the service. They also had access to good training opportunities. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People had been involved in deciding the care they needed, care plans were highly personalised. The provider took a holistic view to ensure people continued to participate in activities.