Bluebird Care Partner with NHS to Launch Revolutionary Service

Bluebird Care and the NHS West Hampshire CCG launch new JET Service to prevent bed blocking in local hospitals.

Bluebird Care and the NHS West Hampshire CCG launch new JET Service to prevent bed blocking in local hospitals


Pictured: Norman Murphy, Malta Sely, Dan Langridge and Charlie Mackey of Bluebird Care, with Philip Heiden, Director at Mid Hampshire Healthcare. 

Bluebird Care, Hampshire’s multi-award winning Home and Live-in care provider, has today launched the new, revolutionary Bluebird Care JET (Joint Emergency Team) Service. The Bluebird Care JET Service will successfully bring the key practices of medical health care and social care together for the first time to reduce hospital admissions by caring for people with acute illnesses in their own homes.
 
The Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester and the Andover War Memorial Hospital are currently experiencing major bed blocking problems. Bed Blocking is where people are staying in hospital longer than is clinically needed when they don’t have a support network at home. The Bluebird Care JET Service has therefore been designed to help keep people out of hospital in the first instance by putting emergency care in place in the community where patients would otherwise be admitted to hospital.  Bluebird Care and local health care professionals such as GP’s and District Nurses have joined together to deliver the same level of care in a patient’s own home.
 
The Bluebird Care JET Service, Mid-Hampshire Healthcare (GP Practices) and the NHS (West Hampshire Clinical Commissioning Group - CCG) will provide significant budgetary savings for the NHS by dramatically reducing the numbers of people unnecessarily going into hospital when they can easily be cared for in their own homes.
 
The Bluebird Care JET Service will provide short term, rapid response care for people with minor injuries and ailments such as Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs), chest infections and falls. The service will initially run across 10 GP surgeries throughout the local area in Winchester, Eastleigh and Andover.
 
GPs and Community/Proactive Care Teams at those surgeries will be able to immediately refer their patients directly into The Bluebird Care JET Service, where they will be assessed and a care package started within four hours or less of referral.
 
The Winchester & Eastleigh GP surgeries involved:

1. Friarsgate Practice
2. St Pauls Surgery
3. St Clements Surgery
4. Twyford Surgery
5. Stokewood Surgery

 
The Andover GP surgeries involved:

1. Andover Health Centre
2. Shepherds Spring Medical Centre
3. Adelaide Medical Centre
4. St Mary’s Surgery
5. Charlton Hill Surgery

While the service will initially pilot across the 10 GP practices listed, the desire is that it will then roll out across the remainder of the West Hampshire CCG area, including Alresford & Stockbridge, in the coming months.
 
Significant Job Creation
 
In addition to the cost saving benefits, the Bluebird Care JET Service will also create a substantial number of jobs for local people.
 
Bluebird Care are now currently recruiting a specialist team to become part of the Bluebird Care JET Service, which will offer a guaranteed 42-hour salaried contract for Care Assistants, something that is unheard of in the home care industry.
 
The NHS has selected the group of Bluebird Care offices owned and managed by Norman and Claire Murphy who operate across Alton & Alresford, Andover & Stockbridge and Winchester, Eastleigh & Romsey due to their high reputation and proven track record for care excellence. This includes nine awards and the highest CQC rating of “Overall Outstanding” – the first in Hampshire.
 
Norman Murphy, Owner & Managing Director of Bluebird Care, said: “We’re thrilled to be the first to do this and anticipate that our new Bluebird Care JET Service will be a huge success for the people of Winchester, Eastleigh and Andover.
 
“Not only will we provide instant care to elderly and vulnerable people in our local area, but we will provide the massive benefit of helping to relieve the bed blocking pressure that currently exists across the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester and the Andover War Memorial Hospital due to being at maximum capacity.
 
“The Bluebird Care JET Service will reduce admissions for these hospitals which will mean there are more free beds and staff on hand to help those that really need it, leaving us as the home care experts to look after those with less serious issues in their own home.
 
“We believe our expertise and award winning home care services make us the perfect partner to work alongside the NHS and we look forward to this new partnership.”
 
Philip Heiden, Director at Mid-Hampshire Healthcare, said: “We are delighted to be working with Bluebird Care who will be providing vital assistance to our NHS hospitals and GP surgeries.
 
“It has long been known that with correct community social care support, thousands of people that are unnecessarily admitted to hospital can be cared for just as well, if not better, in their own homes and Bluebird Care were the perfect partner to deliver this.”