Meet the team

I started Bluebird Care Shropshire in 2009 having left my employment as Managing Director of a successful chain of Garden Centres shortly before.  At that time I felt that my commercial skills and experience was well suited to the Bluebird Care franchise model and decided to be my own boss for the first time.  It was a big step for me and a bit scary,  but I was confident that I could make a difference in the Care Sector and wanted us to be the best in the county. 

I had recently been very poorly myself having had kidney failure over a number of years  and  then needed a kidney transplant in 2007. My sister very kindly gave me one of hers, it is still going strong so must have been a good one!!  I will always be very grateful to her for giving me such a precious gift, but also to the numerous people in the NHS and the care sector who helped me when I needed it. To be honest that care has never stopped and continues today. 

So in starting Bluebird Care Shropshire I had an opportunity to repay some of the help and kindness that I was shown and set out to provide a high standard of care to the people of Shropshire who needed it.  It was my chance to give something back.  Through Bluebird Care I am passionate about providing excellent care and that passion has not diminished over the years.  

The culture of my business is about delivering excellent care to people in their own homes and to go the extra mile for the people we support.  A culture that is shared by the senior team in Shrewsbury and Oswestry and filters down to all of our care staff.  That has enabled us to grow our service rapidly over the last 10 years. We have established a good reputation and work hard to maintain it.  We are not perfect and things do go wrong from time to time, but we try hard to improve and learn.  I am proud of what we have achieved together and look forwards to the next 10 years.

I have lived in Shropshire with my wife Rosanna for the last 37 years, raising our 2 young children here. They are both grown  now:  Gemma is a qualified Social Worker and manager with Action for Children and is mum to my two granddaughters Mia & Evie;  Chris works in Bluebird Care managing our payroll and has recently started his own property development business. 

I am a keen golfer and play at Church Stretton most weeks weather permitting and I enjoy spending time with my two granddaughters.  

My journey in social care began in 1989 when I started working evenings in a local care home after my first child was born. My love for working in the care sector took off from there.
I found that I really enjoyed working with people who had an acquired brain injury and in 2009 I became an outreach worker for Headway Shropshire and progressed to Care Coordinator (Care Manager) whilst completing my level 5 in health and social care. In July 2013 I joined Bluebird Care Shropshire as the Registered Manager and whilst here I completed my level 7 in management. 
I love my job as Registered Manager. As a team we strive to find solutions and make things work, adapting to the needs of our customers and the organisation. I have such a fantastic team around me and that makes a world of difference – understanding each other and having a good working relationship is key to our growth and development. 
In my spare time, I love running and I have completed a few half marathons and several 10k’s. I also enjoy mountain biking and climbing mountains. I met my husband in 1987 and we have two grown-up children and 3 wonderful granddaughters. We also have a rescue dog called Molly and love long weekends away in our campervan exploring our beautiful countryside with her.

In 2012 Sammie started her journey in the care industry as a care assistant. Not knowing where her interests would lead she soon discovered an interest for care. In February 2014 Sammie joined Bluebird Care as an Apprentice, completed her LV3 NVQ in Business & Administration, and was then promoted to Manager's Assistant. Over the years Sammie developed a real enthusiasm for working with people in the care sector and therefore wanted to further her knowledge and in January 2018 Sammie completed her LV5 QCF in Health & Social care.

Having been at Bluebird Care for almost nine years, she has seen the business grow considerably and says that the best thing about her job is: “Seeing the people you recruit make a real positive impact to the company and the day-to-day lives of the vulnerable people we support.”

Her passion for the industry led Sammie to become the Recruitment Officer in March 2021 and she now uses that experience at Bluebird Care to attract the best possible carers to the company.

I have been working in the care sector since 2010. My journey stared in domiciliary care and continued into residential and nursing homes, hospitals and one to one support packages working with challenging behaviour and brain injury.

 My passion continued to be in domiciliary care so in August 2014 I applied for a position as a care worker for Bluebird Care. In December 2014 I was promoted to a care supervisor and completed my NVQ level 3 in Health and Social care. 

My role is mainly customer focussed however I do also support new staff in their 12 week probation period. I complete supervisions and observations weekly to support them to complete their care certificate. The areas I supervise include Church Stretton, Bayston Hill, Meole Brace, Hanwood and Ford. I complete reviews and reassessments of current customers. I also support customers with daily challenges they face such as ordering their medication or being unwell and needing a doctors visit. I working closely with other health professionals to ensure that customers have care suited to their needs and to the highest standard.

I keep active by going to the gym and also enjoy walking in the Shropshire countryside and hills. I am very close to my family and spend a lot of time with friends. I love to see different parts of the world and like to have a couple of holidays each year if I can. 

Before I joined Bluebird Care Shropshire I worked for Tesco’s for several years while my children were growing up. I joined bluebird care in January 2022, and it was the best decision I made for myself. I loved being a carer going out and meeting and caring for our customers.

I recently got promoted to field care supervisor. This involves me looking after the staff and making sure that they are happy at work, I do observations and supervisions to make sure that everyone is wearing the correct PPE and that we are always giving high standards of care.

In my spare time, I love nothing more than to spend time with my partner and our four children, this usually involves taking our three dogs for a walk, visiting new places, or being outside in the garden.

I also love a cheeky gin and tonic on a weekend too!

I started with Bluebird Care in October 2018. I moved to Shrewsbury in 2008 and have worked in care for the past 6 years working with a wide range of people with learning disabilities, mental health, old age, to palliative care. I have obtained a level 3 health and social care diploma and a level 5 NVQ in leadership and management in health and social care.  I am always looking to help people and make myself approachable at all times by fellow colleagues, customers, and others from the community.