One of UK's largest home care providers on hunt for more staff during pandemic

Home care provider Bluebird Care is launching a national campaign ‘It’s Time to Care’ in a major recruitment drive to take on more staff to help care for people during the coronavirus pandemic.

The care provider is calling on the public to consider embarking on a career in care during a time when the UK is already under a huge strain of caring for people, which is now being exacerbated by the added pressures of the pandemic.

Neil Murray, head of Quality and Compliance at Bluebird Care, said: “Everyone we work with is dedicated to making a real difference to our customers’ lives. You could do the same. Our services enable customers to remain in their own homes surrounded by the things that matter to them most. Despite these challenging times, we need to ensure that we can continue to do this. Now more than ever, we need everyone to come together and lend a helping hand.

“At Bluebird Care, we can offer a range of rewarding roles, which provide stability and safety. Whatever your skills, we want to hear from you – full training will be provided.”

Sixty-one-year-old Susan Nicol, a care sssistant at Bluebird Care, has revealed that since become a care assistant, she has “never been happier at work”, adding: “After a lifetime of working in retail where I was unhappy, at last I’ve found what makes me tick.”

Ms Nicol works for Bluebird Care and spends her day visiting older people in their homes, doing a range of jobs from helping them to get their day started, assisting with medication, shopping, making meals and, more often than not, just being a person to chat to.

She said: “I can honestly say at the end of each day I have the most amazing feeling I have made a real difference to someone’s life.

“I didn’t have the confidence at first, but within days I felt I could master this wonderful job. Nothing beats bringing a smile to someone’s face when you walk in the door. Connecting with someone who has dementia for instance – singing Elvis Presley songs or looking through photo albums – is a real joy and honour.”

While raising her children, Susan had a career in and out of retail for decade. “When I realised I’d had enough of supermarket work I thought I might as well try the care sector. I am so glad I did,” she says. Bluebird Care branches have been doing their utmost to help people during the pandemic

• Bluebird Care Southampton have created ‘help-packs” for all their customers – which include lots of useful items to keep them going

• Team members at Bluebird Care Leeds North have been out delivering essentials to poeple so they don’t have to leave their houses

• Bluebird Care Exeter have been sending cards of wishes to their customers daily and distributing letters from overseas, with one coming from as far as South America

• Bluebird Care’s South Somerset, West Dorset and Purbeck Offices have rolled out a new ‘safety kit’, designed to maximise protection and minimise risk of infection for both their staff and customers. Additionally, in order to help many vulnerable or older people in the Somerset, Dorset and Purbeck communities they have also teamed up with supermarket chain Iceland. They will now offer an essential shopping service with home delivery available anyone that needs it, not just for regular Bluebird Care customers

To find out if you have what it takes to work at Bluebird Care, or to view the latest vacancies, visit www.bluebirdcare.co.uk/careers

click here for more details or to contact Bluebird Care