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Christina - My Bluebird Care Journey

I came into care to make a difference. I have a nursing degree, and I was nursing before I joined Bluebird Care, first in a hospital and then in a nursing home. 

All I heard, morning noon and night was: ‘I want to go home.’ I thought I could do something to get people home or to keep them at home in their own surroundings.

I haven’t looked back since I joined Bluebird Care as a supervisor in 2017. The directors took me under their wing, they saw the potential in me, and they believed in me.

Now, I am Area Operations Manager and I oversee all departments including coordination, supervision, and recruitment.

With Bluebird Care the sky’s the limit, there are always opportunities

Since I’ve been here, I’ve gained new qualifications. When I joined, I went from managing myself to managing maybe sixty carers and 130 customers. I did a course in supervisory management. I’m planning to do a diploma in employee relations and management later this year.

There’s a real opportunity to progress your career. If the directors see potential in you they’ll work with you to get you where you need to be.

Sometimes I think: ‘how did I get here?’ I know I couldn’t have done it without my directors and without the office team I have with me. Their belief in me, their dedication to their own roles allowed me to focus on my role, which gave me time to progress and to develop.

What the carers do every day is nothing short of amazing. They’re everything to everybody, they are friends, they are cooks, they are companions, counsellors. During Covid we had carers who didn’t see their own families so they could be with the three or four customers they had.

There are carers who’ve brought dinner from their own home to a customer, or they might take someone’s washing home to get it dried. They’re just the little things that go above and beyond.

We have a carer who goes to aerobics every week with her customer, and a carer who brought a lady swimming, who has multiple sclerosis, and went into the pool with her so that she could get back into the pool for the first time in years. Every carer has a story like that.

They don’t do it for recognition, they do it out of love for the person they’re caring for, that’s the kind of people they are. They’re the kind of people we aim to retain and employ. They go above and beyond without realising it

Yesterday I interviewed a potential care assistant who was her mum’s carer for 20 years until she passed away. She said she wanted to make that difference in as many homes as she could.

I’m proud of my carers and my team. We maintain our high standards. Everyone thinks about how they would want their own family to be treated.

I went to a customer at 4am to be there when they are released from hospital. I see the effort and the work that goes in every day and I aim to do the same.

Most of the carers have been here for years. We let them know they’re valued. At Christmas everyone was given a present and we dressed up as Santa Claus and Mrs Claus. When the weather was warm there was an ice cream for everyone. The support is there for everyone all the time. When someone passes away, we go to the funeral with the carer. The supervisor has gone with a carer to a hospice to visit a customer. There’s no hierarchy here, we’re all a team. Everyone has a great relationship, a great rapport with each other.

In Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we decided to raise money for a breast cancer charity. We made about 300 cup cakes, and we had a bake sale coming together and raising money.

I spend more time with the people I work with than with my own family.

Last year I was nominated and shortlisted for Manager of the Year in Bluebird Care’s annual awards.

I love my job; I find it rewarding. Bluebird Care is a great place to work.