We're here to answer your questions.

What do you expect from your customers?

We value our team and have legal responsibilities for their health and safety. We will not put members of our team into situations where they are either at avoidable risk or where they are subject to harassment or intimidation. We also ask you to refrain from smoking indoors during your care assistant’s visit.

If you are receiving live-in care services, there are some additional requests that we make. For further information on this, please visit our services page. 

How do you provide your services; Do you have a care and support plan?

Our care consultant or a manager will arrange to visit you at home to explain our service and to agree on how you would like your care and support provided. We will discuss any risks with you and decide what action needs to be taken to keep people safe. We will record this in your personal care and support plan, a copy of which will be made available to you, either in your home or via our ‘Family Access’ portal online.

If you have a community care and support plan from your local authority, we will ask your permission to see this, so that we know more about the type of care and support you may need.

We will only begin service after you, or your legal representative has given written consent to the care and support plan. On rare occasions, we may need to provide a service to meet an emergency situation. In these cases, we will send either a supervisor or other competent person to carry out an initial risk assessment and to provide your care and support. We will complete the full risk assessments and care and support plan within 2 days of your service commencing.

How often is our care reviewed? Can we make changes?

We regularly review your care and support plan by talking to you about what is working well and what you may wish to change. This usually happens every six months but maybe sooner if needed. Our care assistants are only allowed to follow the instructions in the care plan. They cannot carry out any other tasks. If you would like to change your care and support plan, please contact our office on 020 8907 1514 and a member of our team will visit you.

Do I have the same Care Assistant for all visits? 

This depends on your specific package of care. If you receive multiple visits per day/week, it may not be possible for just one of our care experts to visit every time. Providing care is a team effort, and we will work with you to introduce your team early on in the service. We have to be mindful of allowing time for our care experts to rest, take holiday or be absent if unwell. We very carefully monitor the continuity of your service to ensure you receive a consistent team of people, or individual wherever possible. 

Wherever possible, we will introduce your care assistant(s) to you prior to your service beginning. The care assistant(s) will know about your care and support plan. At the end of each visit, they will record what care and support they have given you either via an electronic care planning system or via your care and support plan folder. If you are not satisfied, then you can let us know and we will discuss this with you. If necessary, we will make alternate arrangements for you.

All care assistants have an identity badge which they must show you so that you can confirm who they are.

What happens when my care expert is away from work?

You can rely on our services. We will endeavour to keep the number of care experts who visit you to an absolute minimum so that you do not see too many different faces. The care expert who is coming to visit you will always introduce themselves and they will have been briefed so that you do not need to explain their tasks.

We have enough team members to cover the times when your usual care team are away. All our team are full employees of Bluebird Care (East Hertfordshire) and are all trained to the same high standards.

What is considered 'Late' with your visits? 

Care visit times are approximate and may vary up to 30 minutes either side of the normal visit time. If your care assistant does not arrive at the expected time, please allow at least 30 minutes for traffic hold-ups etc. If he/she has not arrived after that time, please telephone us on 020 8907 1514 so that we can check what has happened and ensure the safety of the care expert.

We monitor our visits in real-time, so we will know if your visit is running late. In most instances, it will be us calling you to apologise and offer an update on your visit. 

Late visits only account for 0.2% of all our visits, so lateness will not be a common occurrence. 

What are your charges, and how do I pay? 

We provide a copy of our full charges to our customers and/or their representatives as part of their terms and conditions of business. You will receive this during your initial enquiry. There are no hidden fees, and your service will be fully costed and transparent before your service begins. We won't go ahead with the service without your consent. 

You will receive an invoice in line with your confirmation of instructions which you must pay within 7 days. Methods of payment are included in your terms and conditions. However, we typically request a direct debit or payment by bank transfer. 

You can request a statement of your account at any time. We will give a minimum of 28 days’ written notice of any changes in the fees that you need to pay.

How do I cancel or terminating the service?

If you cancel a care visit less than 48 hours in advance, we will be entitled to charge all or a proportion of the Fees payable for the cancelled visit. We will try to minimise costs where practicable and provide a reasoned breakdown of any cancellation charges.

Either you or we can terminate the Agreement at any time by giving not less than 28 days’ written and signed notice to the other. 

How do you keep us safe and protect me from harm?

We carefully select our care team and carry out checks before they start work. All care assistants are then fully trained to carry out their role safely and to recognise signs of abuse. They will listen to any concerns that you may have about your safety. We have clear procedures for reporting and sensitively responding to any suspicions of abuse. Care assistants have a duty to report any concerns, accidents, and serious incidents to their manager.

Our experienced team of managers and supervisors will be on the constant lookout for hazards, risks and symptoms of abuse. All of these will be handled appropriately, quickly and professionally. As a regulated service, we are required to work closely with the local authority and our regulators; reporting any instances of unsafe or abusive practice. 

Customers or their families’ can speak to a member of the management team or the local authority or the Care Quality Commission if they are concerned about possible abuse.

Procedures to safeguard customers’ property

For reasons of security we never look after keys to customers’ homes. If special arrangements need to be made to access your home, we encourage you to use a key safe.

How we support you with your medicines

Our customers receive safe and effective support with their medication needs from our competent team. Our medication policy and procedures make sure that you receive the right medicines, in the right way at the right time. They protect customers and our team from damage that may arise from the mismanagement of medicines.

Health and safety

We have both legal and moral responsibilities regarding the health and safety of our team and customers. We always carry out a risk assessment prior to starting a service. We will agree on how the service that you want can be provided safely and record this in your care plan. If necessary, we will postpone the start of your service until the right equipment is in place to reduce risks. Our care assistants wear disposable gloves and aprons to minimise the risk of cross-infection.

If the answer you need is not here, please feel welcome to contact our team on 01920 465 697 or email us at Easthertfordshire@bluebirdcare.co.uk