Bluebird Care launches Health & Wellbeing Checks Service across its network

Bluebird Care has launched a Health & Wellbeing Checks Service across its nationwide network of home care offices.

The new service aims to bridge the gap between health and social care and free up NHS resources, such as district nurses and GPs, as well as support customers to avoid hospital admissions where possible.

The Health and Wellbeing Checks comprise of a 30-minute appointment from specially trained ‘Care Champions’, who visit once a week to check the customer’s vital signs, such as blood pressure, alertness and breathing, and find out more about their overall wellbeing.

Scores are then generated and put into a ‘NEWS2 matrix’ where, if results show a decline, they are automatically shared with a healthcare professional, such as a GP, who can then take the appropriate course of action to support the customer.

Bluebird Care said those best suited for this service are customers at the start of their care journey, those prone to illness and high risk of hospitalisation or those returning from hospital as a step down service whilst recovering.

“The service provides a positive introduction into a customer’s care journey and is of great benefit to many customers,” the provider said.

Bluebird Care managing director Yvonne Hignell said in an interview with Home Care Insight earlier this year that the business wanted to preposition itself in the marketplace as the provider that could be there “from those light touch, early door services”, before “people really think that they need care at home”.

“It’s also about consolidating our place in the market around domiciliary care, but then extending customer length of stay through more complex provision, so bridging the gap between health and social care and really challenging the boundaries of traditional health care that is delivered in communities,” she said.