Bluebird Care Shropshire marks Carers Week by celebrating exceptional carers

Bluebird Care Shropshire have marked Carers Week by celebrating two exceptional members of their team, Kirsty Holland and Ann Hardman.

Carers Week is a yearly campaign that seeks to recognise the contribution Carers make to families and communities throughout the UK. This year, with the focus of the week around ‘Making caring visible and valued’, two special team members at the home care provider is being recognised for their fantastic work over the years.

Kirsty and Ann are both team members at Bluebird Care Shropshire. With a wealth of experience, and the personalities to match, they are highly regarded and loved members of the office.

Kirsty has been a team member at Bluebird Care Shropshire for over 9 years. Despite studying and working in care, at the age of 21 she suffered a stroke, which consequentially prompted her to take a different direction in her care journey. Inspired by her own experience, she was driven to more personal care, motivated by the idea of making a difference to the lives of those who need assistance and promoting independence within individuals in the later stages of their lives.

Kirsty has gone from strength-to-strength since taking this career step. A winner of ‘Shropshire Carer of the Year’ in 2012, and a recipient of numerous promotions, initially starting as a part-time carer, and now Specialist Care Co-ordinator, she is an exceptional member of Bluebird Care Shropshire.

Reflecting upon her most treasured part to her role, Kirsty said: “It's being trusted by families to look after their loved ones.”

Starting her career at Bluebird Care Shropshire back in 2010, Ann Hardman’s path into the social care sector is different to Kirsty’s.

Working on her family farm, at the age of 50, Ann decided to take a different path in her career. And, encouraged by the thought of helping and caring for others, she decided to join the social care sector.

Now, after over 10 years, Ann Hardman continues to provide exceptional support to her customers, often going above and beyond, despite continuing to work part-time on her family farm.

When asked what advice she would give to those seeking to enter social care, Ann Hardman noted, “I would say ‘go for it!’ You receive a lot of rewarding feedback from customers, and get to meet lots of lovely people, whether they be colleagues or customers. It’s great to be able to make a difference to individuals and see the smiles on their faces.”

Speaking on the two team members, Director of Bluebird Care Shropshire, Claire Flavell, said:

“Kirsty has an amazing passion for care and her customers. Kirsty gives 100% to everything she does, with effective problem solving to get her customers the right care to match their needs.

“Ann works with us in her ‘spare time’ alongside working on her family farm. Juggling lambing and caring! One of our hard-working senior team who really enjoys her job, and it shows in everything she does”.