Bluebird Care gives Harrogate’s older people a year of independence in their own homes
More than 8,000 care visits were made to older people in Harrogate in just one year, following the launch of care-at-home support services from Bluebird Care.
After 12 months in operation the Bluebird Care team, whose territory covers the whole of the Harrogate District, now supplies care workers to more than 30 customers all of whom live independently in their own homes thanks to the help and support provided.
Bluebird Care has also brought many new jobs to the Harrogate area with the payroll growing from just two people, when it launched in August 2010, to more than 15 local employees, many of whom are new to the caring profession.
The Harrogate operation was established by James & Maggie Poole, a husband & wife team who until recently were running a Residential Care home in the Wirral, but wished to return to their beloved North Yorkshire.
As well as the challenge of starting an organisation just at a time when local authority budgets came under threat, the Bluebird Care team also faced one of the most severe winters on record. However, the resourceful team overcame the weather by pulling together to ensure all their scheduled calls were made to vulnerable customers stranded by the icy conditions.
James Said: “There were many mornings during the winter when we were building up the team numbers, where I would have to drive my wife and one year old daughter out to very rural areas to make sure visits were done and customers weren’t let down. It was minus nine some mornings but my wife and daughter are resilient and own very warm woolly hats; we got through it”.
As a result of this kind of reliability, their reputation for delivering high standards of care at-home has grown, along with their customer list.
For James Poole, Bluebird Care is all about the people: “Our first customer was Ellen who last year celebrated her 95th birthday and is living independently with assistance from our Bluebird Care team. She is just one of many examples of older people in Harrogate who are able to continue living happily and safely in their own homes because of our services”.
Maggie Poole added: “It gives us great satisfaction not only to be able to provide care, but also offer career opportunities to local people who are equally passionate about helping others in the community.”
