Welcome to Bluebird Care Careers in Trafford

Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts | Senior Associate Member of The Royal Society of Medicine

Like most people, I didn't know what 'care' involved until my mother became ill. Suddenly my family was plunged into the complex and confusing business of trying to understand what constituted great care and how to find it.

When Mum died of breast cancer in 1983, I felt we'd failed to find her what we were looking for. She received extraordinary support from neighbours, family and friends as well as fantastic care from the district nurses, but given her wish to stay at home until the end, we needed professional help. The care from social services proved to be shoddy and unreliable.

The same happened with Dad who died from lung cancer in 1998. He also passed away at our family home in Timperley where he wanted to be. Like Mum, he had wonderful support from family and neighbours, but the professional care he received was inconsistent and disappointing.

Mr Donald Helsby & Mrs Margaret Helsby: 
12 February 1956, Christ Church, Timperley

Looking back, I'm astonished I didn't get involved in domiciliary care earlier. When I had careers counselling at school when I was 15, I was told I should "work with people in a caring profession". It was only in 2011, some thirty years later, that I finally took notice. 

In the interim, I worked in advertising and marketing for over 30 years heading up two advertising agencies and working with consumer leisure clients including The London Eye, Madame Tussauds, First Group and British Airways. Over time, the cut and thrust of advertising lost its appeal and I wanted to pursue a more rewarding and worthwhile career. I knew it was the perfect time to listen to my 'calling'.

So I sold everything I owned. The house. The car. I invested just about every penny I had to set up Bluebird Care Trafford in 2011. I was delighted to have the Trafford territory as this is my home and always has been. I grew up here and my family has been in Trafford for four generations. Since I started the business, I haven't looked back and I've never felt more fulfilled in my work. 

My team and I are determined to give our customers the very best care at home available - the sort of care I wanted for my parents. We bring enormous time and attention to selecting the right carers to join our team. Those who make the grade are trained to standards that exceed those of any other home care company in Trafford. 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, MS and Parkinson's among a full range of neurological conditions.

Our care is different. It goes far beyond the normal limits of companionship and ticking off domestic tasks. Our motto is"A Better Life, Lived Longer" and these aren't mere words. We incorporate advanced therapeutic techniques to visibly change the lives of our customers for the better and extend both the quality and the length of life.

In April 2016 I was made Senior Associate Member of The Royal Society of Medicine, the highest non-medically qualified membership The Society can bestow. This gives me the opportunity to rub shoulders with leading medical practitioners involved in the latest research and practice across my core specialties of Intellectual Disability (children), Geriatrics & Gerontology, Palliative Care and Clinical Neurosciences. 

I was delighted to read The Royal Society's motto 'Non est vivere sed valere vita est' meaning 'Life is not being alive but being well'. This is exactly my philosophy at Bluebird Care Trafford. If you'd like to listen to my story in my own words, please visit this link: https://audioboom.com/playlists/1296792-bluebird-care

We must be doing something right as we have were chosen as the overall national Bluebird Care Business of the Year 2016 out of over 200 offices across the UK.

Time and again families remark on the positive change in their loved ones. They say they are thriving rather than existing and that our care has reduced the stress levels of everyone in the family circle. They say they are re-connecting with their loved ones and reviving their relationships with them. I'm priviliged to have the chance to help people in Trafford at the most difficult times in their lives.

I have worked in social care since 2001 and have held senior management roles since 2005.  My experiences have been diverse having worked with adults and children with learning disabilities, autism, challenging behaviours, mental health, acquired brain injury, dementia, complex health needs and physical disabilities.  I have worked in and managed residential, supported living, respite and domiciliary care services.

During my career I have developed new services and led transitional changes to ensure best outcomes for the customer and to meet changing models of care and legislation.

I consider my work my vocation, I believe that everyone is equal and is entitled to the best care possible, as I would want for my family or myself.  I am passionate and committed to this ethos and I recognise that in my privileged role I am able to drive change and best practice thereby supporting our colleagues to deliver the best person centred high quality care we all aspire to.

I have many interests and hobbies including running with my dogs. I love all animals, wildlife and nature, I enjoy cooking, reading, knitting and yoga.  Spending time with family is very important; me, my parents, children and grandchildren all enjoy getting together for quality, fun time.

Bluebird Care Trafford Care Assistants are exceptional. Our management team selects, trains and supervises them to ensure they're the best supported care professionals in Trafford and have everything they need to deliver the very best homecare. We look after our Care Assistants because we know happy colleagues make happy customers. 

All our Care Assistants are directly employed on permanent contracts by Bluebird Care Trafford. We are fully responsible for all their professional training and development, holiday pay, sick pay and professional insurances. We make sure they have sufficient travel time between customer visits and ample time to complete all agreed tasks during each visit. We look after them above and beyond our legal obligations and they are hugely valued members of our Bluebird Care Trafford family. They change customers' lives for the better every day. 

Our customers love our Care Assistants. Take a look at our testimonials and see what they say about our team.

Richard joined the Bluebird Care Trafford team, having worked in social care for the last 9 years.

His early career encompassed eleven years working in the Liverpool youth service undertaking various different roles and progression opportunities.  Whilst in this sector, Richard obtained a BA Hons. degree in Youth and Community Studies from Liverpool John Moore’s University. 

Feeling ready for a new challenge Richard made the transition into the health and social care sector, working as a Residential Care Manager for 4 years, before commencing as a Team Leader with a well-respected health and social care charity for a number of years.  His most recent role prior to Bluebird Care, involved setting up a flat scheme for adults who had autism and a learning disability diagnosis.

About his role current role, Richard explains:

“My favourite aspects of this job are going out to see the customers in their own homes and observing how well the Carers provide high quality care and support.  There is nothing more satisfying than getting great customer feedback”.

In his spare time, Richard likes to travel and go walking.  He has a cat called Coco, and a chocolate Labrador puppy called Barney.  When not busy with puppy training, Richard and his partner are busy with renovating their home.

Jill has worked in social care since 1995 and first began working at a residential special school as a student; she left in 2001 as a Group Manager. Working alongside children with emotional, social, behavioural and mental health difficulties, there were also children who had a diagnosis of autism, ADHD, global delay, Fragile X, Ehlers Danlos syndrome, and social communication disorder.

Working for Rochdale Council School Improvement Team for 15 years enabled Jill to develop skills in mentoring, coaching, positive behaviour management, de-escalation, diversion and training. Jill began training others, and this is where her passion for educating others began.  This encompassed Peer Massage trainer, Pyramid Club leader, Webster Stratton Early Year Programme facilitator and a senior Team-Teach tutor for the local authority.

Training and coaching others was a favoured aspect of her role. Being able to teach a person something that they could take into their work environment, use, sustain and create a positive impact on the life of a child and their family, was a very fulfilling experience.

After completing an Access to HE science course, Jill decided that a formal teaching qualification was the way forward. Graduating from The University of Bolton with a Certificate in Education was a proud achievement.

A year as a Further Education lecturer in Health and Social Care was a very positive experience and the foundation required to enable Jill to apply for the Training Manager position at Bluebird Care Trafford in 2018, a role which has since evolved.

When not working, Jill has a husband, two daughters and a dog called Mollie, family time together is the best time! Fun days out, country walks, holidays and bike riding are what makes Team Norris happy.

Lead Coordinator Lisa, has been working in the care sector for over 15 years.  She spent many years developing her skills and knowledge as a Care Assistant, before deciding to take the plunge and use her vast experience to transition into a more operational role as a Care Coordinator.

Lisa did this for several years, within a busy re-enablement provision, covering Trafford and the surrounding areas.  This was an extremely fast paced service, where she had to learn very quickly the workings of a complex rostering system and how to plan effective rotas that would often need changing at short notice. 

Part of her success in this role was being able to understand things from an operational point of view, but also from the perspective of Carers, being able to balance the two in a way that keeps both customers and carers happy.

As a Coordinator and Carer, Lisa got to know the Trafford area inside out, so has an excellent grasp of our territory.  Since starting with Bluebird Care in 2019, Lisa has taken a lead in the restructuring of our rostering model and has helped to implement our new rostering software system.

Outside of work, Lisa is a busy Mum to twins.  She enjoys watching football and rugby and likes to keep active by heading out walking.

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