Supporting The Unsung Heroes Of Social Care

Caring for a family member of friend can be exhausting and lonely. Here at Bluebird Care Wandsworth, we're passionate about supporting the carers in our community as best we can.

For many the word ‘carer’ conjures up an image of a uniformed professional tending to people in residential homes or the community but the reality is very different. Carers are people who, for a variety of reasons, provide unpaid care for ill, disabled or ageing friends or family members. In fact, unpaid carers far outnumber the professional workforce and are the backbone of the social care system, with an estimated 6.5 billion carers saving the economy a mind-blowing £136 billion a year! As many carers just ‘get on with things’, the incredibly valuable service they provide often gets overlooked, as does their own wellbeing. Whilst it’s true that caring for someone, particularly a loved-one, can be wonderful, life affirming and incredibly rewarding, it can also be exhausting, upsetting and very challenging at times. Often carers find themselves having to juggle work and family life to fit around their caring duties and the stress of this can take its toll on their finances, health and relationships. That’s why at Bluebird Care Wandsworth, we believe it’s vital to do all we can to support the incredible carers in our community!

Caring For Carers Through Community Partnerships

We wanted to be an integral part of bringing much-needed support services to the carers in our area so we’ve joined forces with the Alzheimer’s Society and Wandsworth Carers’ Centre to create Carers Partnership Wandsworth. Our co-operative enables all three organisations to share their vast experience and areas of expertise, creating a fantastic resource entirely dedicated and tailored to the needs of local carers. Caring for someone can be an isolating and difficult experience so it’s extremely important to us that carers feel they have someone to turn to in times of need; the Partnership is an extremely effective and valuable port of call for people seeking peer support, advocacy, advice, companionship, dementia support services or respite care.

As part of the Carers Partnership Wandsworth, Bluebird Care Wandsworth provides free respite care of up to 52 hours in a nine month period to those most in need of a break. We know that for many carers, being able to take time out, even if it’s just for a few hours, can be a lifeline. Our respite care is all the more effective because our Customers can rest assured that their loved ones will be well looked after by compassionate staff who have the person’s best interests at heart!

Introducing Our New Respite Service

For those who  may not be eligible for the Carers Partnership Wandsworth respite care  we’ve introduced our Short Term Live-In Respite Care.  This new service is a practical and flexible way of getting the breathing space you need whilst ensuring that the person you care for is in the best hands possible. Whether it’s just for a couple of days, up to a period of four weeks or somewhere in between our highly-trained Care Assistants will make sure that your relative continues to carry on as normal, enjoying life in the comfort of their own home.

Our message to carers is that they are not alone! We’re here to help shoulder the responsibility and support people looking after a relative or friend to balance caring commitments with other equally important areas of their lives. People who care for others often do so selflessly but we believe that to stay healthy and happy, everyone needs to take time out and put themselves first now and again. For us, the wellbeing of the carer is as important as that of the person they look after. Caring for carers is the best way to acknowledge and appreciate the wonderful contribution they make to society!

To see if you are eligible for our Carers Partnership Wandsworth respite service or to discuss Short Term Live-In Respite care, please get in touch with Hiliwona on 020 8877 4950 or use our online contact form.