Step 1: A phone call (or a visit to the office)
You ring 01278 488799, email us, or pop into our office at 6-8 Monmouth Street, Bridgwater. Usually you'll speak to Alice first. She'll ask a few simple questions: who the care is for, where they live, and what's prompting the call. No forms, no commitment.
Step 2: We come to the house
One of our care managers, often Dinah, visits the person at home. This is a conversation, not an inspection. We want to know:
- What a good day looks like for them
- What they'd like help with, and what they'd rather keep doing themselves
- Their health, medication and any mobility needs
- The little things: how they take their tea, what time they like to get up, whether the radio goes on Radio Somerset or Radio 4
That last list sounds trivial. It isn't. Those details are what make care feel like help rather than an intrusion.
Step 3: A care plan you can read
We write a care plan based on that conversation. It sets out each visit, what happens during it and why. You, and anyone you'd like to involve, can read it and ask for changes before anything starts.
If it would help, we can add Health & Wellbeing Checks to the plan, so carers regularly check things like blood pressure and oxygen levels during visits.
Step 4: Meeting your carers
Rose, our care coordinator, matches carers to people based on location, availability and personality. Where we can, we introduce your main carer before or on the first visit. We keep the group of carers small so faces become familiar quickly.
Step 5: The first few weeks
The first visits are a settling-in period. Routines take a little while to find their rhythm. We check in with you after the first week or two to ask what's working and what isn't, then adjust.
Step 6: Reviews as needs change
Needs change, sometimes slowly and sometimes overnight after a fall or hospital stay. We review care plans regularly, and you can ask for a review at any time. Visits can go up, go down or change shape completely.
A tip from our team
Before the assessment visit, jot down a rough diary of a normal day: when they get up, eat, rest and go to bed, and where they find things hard. It makes the conversation quicker, and it often helps families spot things they hadn't noticed.
Ready to talk? Call 01278 488799 or email sedgemoorandwsomerset@bluebirdcare.co.uk.
