Welcome to Bluebird Care Careers in Clapham & Streatham

I’m sure like most people I had no experience of ‘home care’ until my dad George, whom I adored, became seriously ill.  I’d always believed him to be invincible and it was a complete shock to me to find out he was a mere mortal like the rest of us… and so began a very emotional journey with some good and not so good care along the way and sadly for our family, no happy ending.
 
I experienced for myself the huge impact care from a stranger has, not only on the person receiving the support but the wider family too.  And so I decided to stand up and be counted and that’s where Bluebird Care Wandsworth was born in 2011.  My background lent itself perfectly to the skills I needed to establish an organization that could make a positive difference to others who live in the same community as me.
 
Rated by CQC as 'Outstanding' for Leadership and widely regarded in Wandsworth as the Marks & Spencer of care, expanding our ‘care family’ in 2017 to cover our neighbouring Borough of Lambeth was a natural progression in our ongoing journey.  It’s unbelievably rewarding to spend each day making someone else’s and to have a team working for me who share the same values and standards. 
 
Our care is different. It goes far beyond companionship and ticking off tasks.  We are determined to give our customers the very best care at home available - the sort of care I wanted for my dad.  We spend an enormous amount of time and attention in selecting the right people to join our team. Those who make the grade are trained to standards that exceed those of any other home care company in the area. They receive continuous training and development to make sure they meet the most exacting standards and offer the most effective care. We help our customers face many health challenges including all kinds of dementia, stroke, brain injury, MND, MS and Parkinson's among a full range of neurological conditions.

We are part of the nationally renowned Bluebird Care, the country’s market leader and foremost provider of private care-at-home.
 
This means that whilst my team are local, with the all-important ‘local’ company feel and friendly personal service, we benefit from the support structure of a respected and award winning national organization with systems in place to ensure unparalleled standards of care – something a smaller individual local business couldn’t hope to match.

I can’t imagine doing anything else!
 
I’m from Portugal where we have a strong sense of family and a genuine respect for our elders. In Portugal I worked for the Parkinson’s & Alzheimer’s Society to develop a project within social nursing care and later on, in the Portuguese Social Services.  
I moved to the UK to both further my career and also reach more individuals with medium, high and complex needs, assessing patients in a Nursing Home and then a prestigious Live-In and Domiciliary Care setting before joining Karina and Neil at Bluebird Care. Along the way I met and married a lovely English gentleman called Paul who supports my work commitment and care goals.
 
It’s a pleasure to work alongside such like-minded people; sharing a passion for what we do and a commitment to continually grow and learn new things.  I’m not surprised we are known to be leaders in our field, rather than followers.  We share an almost ‘old fashioned’ Customer service approach – going above and beyond what is expected of us – something which is so often lacking these days.  It’s gratifying to change lives for the better.  Really listening and taking into account all aspects of the person’s life and how they want to live it and then making it happen.  Enabling them to live the life they want, no matter what their age, ability or circumstance.  This satisfies the fire in my Mediterranean heart!  I don’t think there can be a more rewarding career than this and certainly, I believe that, done in the right way, nothing is impossible!
 
I confess to being a bit of a workaholic however in my downtime, I love travelling.  I speak Spanish, Portuguese and French fluently and I’m currently working on perfecting my Italian!
 
Care is in my soul and my way to give light to life!

A mum with 2 young daughters I initially joined the team as a part time administrator and then from there I was head of recruitment.  I’ve grown with this family company as my girls have grown up and I am now full time Business Manager. 

I’m still very much involved with our wonderful carers – many of whom have been with us for many years now– and I love seeing the journey they each take from the day they start working for us. 

I am also the person who speaks to those enquiring about our service, a role I take incredibly seriously.

I was once that person not knowing where to start and needing help for my own mum and I know just how scary and confusing the whole process can be.  I don’t want anyone to feel as overwhelmed as I did and so it’s a very personal thing for me that I give the very best advice I can. 

It’s a privilege to do what I do.

I began my working life as a Civil Servant doing various roles, such as Child Maintenance Enforcement caseworker, HR Manager, and Complaints Investigator. As a 'people' person, these roles offered me job satisfaction, but not always a feeling of reward. After 22 years, I left the Civil Service to take care of a beloved relative with Dementia. It was a steep learning curve, as I had to adjust to life as a full time carer, whilst learning about her condition and how it would impact on both my relative's and my own day-to-day life, over the short and long term. I loved how caring for someone made me feel, and it sparked my interest in care. My interest was not only from the perspective of ensuring my relative received great care from me and my wider family; but as her care needs increased, it was my responsibility to ensure additional support from agency carers was tailored to her individual needs, which was not always easy.

As Customer Service Manager at Bluebird Care Clapham & Streatham, I can use to the fullest, my customer facing skills to absolutely make sure that our customers not only experience first-class care tailored to their individual needs, but that their families also experience the understanding, compassion, and support, of our care team.

It's my experience that being part of a close-knit family, helps to navigate the ups and downs of caring for a loved one. Thankfully, I am part of the Bluebird Care family which embodies this ethos - it certainly makes my role as Customer Service Manager the most rewarding and satisfying job I have ever had!

After many years and various different roles within Retail I decided I needed a new challenge and a job that made me feel like I was making a difference.  My career in care had started! 

Initially a Carer, I could never have predicted how much I’d love supporting others.  In time I was promoted to Field Care Supervisor and then eventually joined the team here at Bluebird Care as Care Coordinator and have never been happier!

My career in care began when my brother in law was in hospital on life support.  We really thought we were going to lose him but amazingly he pulled through, was discharged and sent home where we started to care for him ourselves.

This was such a turning point for me and I changed career, starting out as a support worker whilst also looking after my brother in law and then a carer for around 5 years.  I was promoted to Field Care Supervisor and then Care Coordinator.  I’m fulfilled in what I do and I do it to the best of my ability.