I love helping people reach their full potential

Meet Claire, Registered Manager and Director of Care at Bluebird Care Shropshire and finalist of our Team Member of the Year Award at our 2023 Bluebird Care Awards.

I was 19 when I became a care assistant. It was after my daughter was born, and it worked around having a family. I then went on to do different roles in health and social care. I’ve always had jobs that worked around the children. When they were at school, I worked from 9am until 3pm so that I could do the school run.  

Now I’m a 53 years-old grandmother and I’m a Registered Manager and Director of Care. I joined Bluebird Care in 2013. My role involves day-to-day running, making sure we’re meeting regulation standards, making sure the customers are getting the right care and that the staff are looked after and well trained. 

I’m responsible for the whole team. We have about 55 care workers, five live-in care workers and ten people in the office. I have an amazing team and we’re here because we care. I meet the new staff on induction, I also meet them through their probation period and do supervisions with them. We want someone who cares, someone who smiles.  

I enjoy seeing the staff grow and develop. I love helping people reach their full potential. When a new care worker comes in, I love watching their journey and how they love their job and get enjoyment out of it. The satisfaction is knowing that you have the right people giving care to people that need it. 

I want the staff to do a job they’re happy in. I want them to see that you can achieve things here. I want them to achieve what they want to. I have an open-door policy that encourages all staff to feel welcome, supported, and motivated. They know they can come to talk to me whenever they want to. Care staff will often call in to see me just for a general chat. Even though everyone has their own role we’re all here to support each other.  

If we’re short staffed, I go out and deliver care and I get to see the customers. I enjoy that, it reminds me of why we’re here. I like to think I lead by example. I like to think I m a really positive person. I’d never ask someone to do something I haven’t done or wouldn’t do. I have an upbeat, can-do attitude, I’ve always been like that. 

One of our customers was near the end of his life and we supported him to go to a football match because that was his dream. It’s lovely to be able to do things like that, they’re special moments.  

He hadn’t been to the football for years. It was very much planned, I made sure we assessed the situation and that everything was booked and that we’d done all the safety checks. We took some photographs and framed them so that he could have them on the wall beside his bed. We had a lovely photograph of him with his care worker, it was just wonderful. He was absolutely beaming. It meant so much to the customer, and to the care worker as well - the care worker felt so proud to be part of it. When we saw the pictures, it made us feel happy that we’d achieved it. 

I’m passionate about delivering good care, it’s what we come to work for every day, it’s exactly what we’re here for, it is what people deserve.  It’s hugely important for them to stay in their own homes if they can. I think people thrive when they have familiar surroundings.  

I really enjoy working for Bluebird Care. I was a finalist in the 2023 Bluebird Care Awards, and I felt proud to be nominated. There’s a lot of passion for what we do within the team, there really is, and that shines out from everyone I work with. 

I feel privileged to have worked in this industry for so long, and I get excited about seeing other people being able to do that too. I would always encourage people to come and work in care and give it a go.