11/06/2014
Bluebird Care has expanded to North East Lincolnshire, creating about 30 job opportunities and promising better care services.
Bluebird Care is a national home care provider with 200 offices across the UK and Republic of Ireland. It has experience providing care for the NHS as well as local authorities.
The North East Lincolnshire branch of Bluebird Care operates on a private basis and is owned and managed by a husband and wife tandem, John and Yvonne Webber. Yvonne has experience working in the child care industry since 2006.
Ms. Webber and husband John decided to enter the home care industry following a 2012 incident involving her grandfather. Dissatisfied with the treatment received by her grandfather, Ms. Webber decided to set up and manage her own home care after a year of careful research and consideration.
Early this year, several incidents have brought elderly abuse in UK care homes into the spotlight. One shocking incident was caught on video by an undercover journalist from the BBC. While there has been no report of serious elderly home care abuse in North East Lincolnshire, several care homes in the area have been flagged by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Last April 2014, CQC rebuked a Grimsby care home that failed to meet various national standards and advised it to make immediate improvement.
Ms. Webber promises to deliver better home care in North East Lincolnshire. In a Grimsby Telegraph report , she said: "Having experienced it ourselves we know the important things. The quality of care, the same people providing it, and looking after our staff were key. We make sure they are paid £8 an hour, which is well above the minimum wage. If they are looked after, it will enable us to keep them. The industry has got a bad reputation for a high turnover of staff, so we hope to change that."
