Read our December 2019 Newsletter!

Read about our Carer of the Month for December, success in the national 'Team Member of the Year' awards and see photos from our annual customer Christmas Tea Party.

Carer of the month

Mercy Kapepe

We are delighted to announce Mercy Kapepe as our Carer of the Month for December! Mercy has been with us for over seven years and works as a Live-in Care Assistant. Mercy is a kind, gentle, intelligent and very professional lady who puts her customers wellbeing at the forefront of everything she does. Customers and colleagues are always very complimentary about her attitude and commitment to the job. She has been a great asset to the Live-in team and a great role model for both her colleagues and the care profession more widely.

Mercy is the perfect example of someone who sees her role as a vocation and not just a job!

Huge congratulations to you Mercy….keep up the fabulous work!

Our runner up this month goes to one of our new carers, Tatjana, who joined the team in October this year.

She is very enthusiastic and has such a caring nature, and has made her customers feel instantly at ease when entering their home for the first time and has enjoyed great feedback from customers and colleagues alike.

It is safe to say, however, that all our care team do a fabulous job day in and day out, keeping you and your families safe and happy.

Congratulations Mercy, your recognition is well deserved!

Christmas Party 2019…What a blast!!

A great day was had by all of those who were able to come along to our annual Christmas Tea Party at the Grovefield Hotel.

There was some great singing and partying (and some bad singing too but that didn’t hold us back!) We know only too well the difficulties poor health has on our abilities to get out and about, so we’ve got some photos to share in the hope it makes you smile.

 

The Bluebird Care network ‘Team Member of the Year’ Award goes to our very own Training Manager, Libby!!

Bluebird’s National Care awards ceremony took place at London’s historic Fortnum & Mason on 14th November this year.

Libby Irvine, our Training Manager, has won the ‘Team Member of the Year’ award. This accolade recognises key members of the team who embody Bluebird Care and who have an exceptional focus on both our carers and our customers.

Libby won this award because of the energy, vibrance and commitment she brings to her role, and to Bluebird Care. The judges made the decision that Libby was the worthy winner on the day, having spoken to four other finalists in her category from across the UK.

The Bluebird Care Awards are a celebration of the exemplary commitment shown by the dedicated teams that work at Bluebird Care, across the whole network of almost 200 offices.

This year’s panel of judges included Professor Martin Green, Chief Executive of Care England; Colin Angel, Policy and Communications Director of UK Homecare Association (UKHCA) and Sue Learner, Editor of homecare.co.uk and carehome.co.uk. The judges were given time to meet the finalists and interview them to get a sense of how they go above and beyond in their daily roles. The judges then select the winners from a pool of finalists, who had been selected from a record number of applications from across the whole of the Bluebird Care network.

I think for those of you who know Libby will agree that she oozes enthusiasm for the role; she could not be more passionate about the training she does.

Compliments corner

– each month we list some of the many compliments received from you about us so we can share the word…

A customer told our Mentor, Luis, that she was very happy with carer Emina who is doing an excellent job.

A family member wrote to express a special thanks to Elvin for his support with dad during a fall. Vali was also complimented for her notes the following day as it was clearly written with the follow up from the day before in mind.

Lisa from our Finance department recently was recently thanked for all her help, and told by the person that they were most impressed.

During a recent review a customer and family member said they rated our service as excellent and said that Elvin was very gentle, kind and always tries his best.

When working with Ilona, a Senior Carer said she worked excellently, and was very impressed as to the standard of care she was delivering to the customer

Following the sad passing of her husband, a customer’s wife took the time to call the office to say a great ‘thank you’ to Stacey who cared for her husband on the day he passed away. She had been most calm, compassionate and caring towards both her and her husband at such a difficult time.

A customer’s daughter expressed huge thanks to Zoe for staying beyond the end of a call to help the her with her ill mother who had become acutely ill. She also expressed her thanks to Sharnjit who had been a great support to her when she wasn't feeling well, and she cared for the customer on her own. She also mentioned that Patricia, Andrea and Stacey have all been great carers for her mum.

A member of the care team wrote an email to Gigi expressing her thanks for the word she’d undertaken to make sure her accommodation was clean and secure.

A family member told Luis that Gurdip is great with mum and dad, and that he is brilliant with both of them.

Whilst at a customer’s home Mariana was told that they were very happy with the service. The customers husband said, " I couldn’t have better people to look after my wife".

A customer feedback via the recent customer survey said: "Jasminka is a good friend and should be considered for Carer of the Month"

Whilst reflecting on her role with Bluebird Care one of our Live-in carers took the time to write and say how amazing her training had been with Libby. Every day she remembers very well all the advice received from her and she is putting it into practice every day.

Gabi complimented Ella on her quick observations on noticing the change in a customer’s health. She communicated effectively and in turn the customer got the medical help required in a timely fashion.

Luis told us that both a customer and his wife expressed that Jessie did a great Job whilst delivering care and how happy they are with her.

Luis also shared that a customer expressed how happy they are with Elvin who has done a great job, in spite of being relatively new to the role. They said he had a very positive attitude and was very caring.

Our upcoming General election is looming – December 2019

I’m sure it’s not passed anyone by that the General Election is taking place next week. There is no longer the facility to register for a postal vote or to vote by proxy. If you still want to vote in person but feel this might be difficult then please contact us at the office to see if we can support you to get to your local polling station. Every vote matters and it’s important you get your say.

ARRANGEMENTS FOR YOUR CARE FOR CHRISTMAS PERIOD 2019

Please remember to let us know what your care requirements will be over the festive period by completing the forms recently sent out in the pre-paid envelope provided. Please be aware that there are additional charges on bank holidays.

Our office opening hours over the Christmas period are below:

Date	Office opens at	Office closes at
Monday 23rd December	8:30am	5pm
Tuesday 24th December	8:30am	3pm
Wednesday 25th December     (Bank holiday)	Closed all day	Closed all day
Thursday 26th December         (Bank holiday)	Closed all day	Closed all day
Friday 27th December	8:30am	5pm
Saturday 28th December	Closed all day	Closed all day
Sunday 29th December	Closed all day	Closed all day
Monday 30th December	08.30am	5pm
Tuesday 31st January	08.30am	3pm
Wednesday 1st January 2020  (Bank holiday)	Closed all day	Closed all day
Thursday 2nd January	8:30am	5pm
Friday 3rd January	8:30am	5pm

Then it’s back to normal…

Our out-of-hours emergency service will be available 7am to 10pm as usual when the office is closed. The emergency number is 01628 902 455

We would like to share with you all that two of our Bluebird Care team have welcomed their new baby boys into the world. Both carers, Chloe Burnard and Chloe Clark gave birth to their babies on the same day!

Please give a warm welcome to Chloe Bernard’s most gorgeous baby, Archie. He was born on 21st November 2019.

We are wishing them both a lifetime of love, health and happiness.

Please also give another warm welcome to Chloe Clark’s most beautiful baby, Frankie-Blu. He was born on 21st November 2019.

We are also wishing them both a lifetime of love, health and happiness.

And last but absolutely not least, we are recognising the work anniversaries of our staff. We send a personalised email from Ian recognising their work anniversary but based on feedback from our care staff, we also wanted to recognise it in both the Staff and Customer Newsletters.

Monthly Anniversaries:

Mariana Rughinis - 4 years

Erno Horvath - 3 years Ruby Hockley - 2 years Karmela Hrenovic - 1 year

Marina Augustin - 1 year

BEST WISHES AS ALWAYS……Anne, Nicky & Cindy