Care staff from the local Carlow, Kilkenny and Waterford Bluebird Care office recently took part in a very interesting training and awareness day on Palliative Care and Multiple Sclerosis.

The Palliative Care training was given by Bernie Brophy from the local Carlow/Kilkenny HomeCare Team. Carers found the presentation very beneficial with everyone keen to learn more about this important area. The afternoon session was hosted by the MS Society with a detailed and interesting presentation on MS and some guidance on how to Care for people with MS.

Brian Egan Managing Director of the local Bluebird Care office said that there was great feedback from everyone about the training. This forms part of the varied Bluebird Care Carlow, Kilkenny and Waterford training programme. Aside from the mandatory Induction & Orientation workshop and Manual Handling and Patient Moving Training the local office has held training workshops in the following areas over the last year : Dementia & Alzheimer’s Care, Disability Awareness, Parkinson’s, Motor Neurones and now Palliative Care and Multiple Sclerosis.

On a national basis Bluebird Care are currently looking at rolling out new training initiatives for Carers throughout the country as training continues to provide a key focus for Bluebird Care as all offices continue to deliver a high standard of Care for people of all ages and needs in their own homes and in the community.

Bluebird Care are a leading Home Care provider with offices throughout Ireland providing Care on a private basis and as a preferred provider for the HSE. Flexible Care visits are provided from hourly care to 24/7 Live In Care with an individualised Care Plan completed for each client.

Bluebird Care Carlow/Kilkenny & Waterford would like to welcome Luan Lyons to Bluebird Care as our new Care Supervisor.

Luan is a qualified Nurse (BSc General Nursing) and has over 10 years experience working in Care in the community as well as in residential and hospital settings. Luan will primarily be responsible for staff supervisons, the ongoing maintenance of staff files, the continued implementation of our stringent policies and procedures as well as supporting Liz Carey-Miller in her role as Care Manager in areas such as Risk Assessments, Care reviews, Carer Appraisals. Luan will also work with Care Coordinator Marie Conway with Roster & Coordination duties and of course will be there as an additional support for our Carers providing Care throughout Carlow, Kilkenny and Waterford.

Luan is passionate about the delivery of a high standard of Care which is a key focus for Bluebird Care and we would like to wish Luan the best of luck in her new role with Bluebird Care.

Bluebird Care Carlow/Kilkenny and Waterford provides a flexible and professional care service, we work as a direct provider for Carlow/Kilkenny HSE and Waterford HSE and on a private basis and can be contacted on 056 780 6054 or email ckw@bluebirdcare.ie

Bluebird Care Kilkenny recently provided some fundraising for their local Alzheimer’s Association. This was based on the total score in the All Ireland Hurling Final where Bluebird Care contributed €10 per point scored and Michael Fennelly who just received the GAA GPA Hurler of the year award was on hand to present the cheque for €420.
Managing Director of Bluebird Care Kilkenny Brian Egan commented ‘Bluebird Care provide Care for people with a range of different needs throughout Ireland and so work with a lot of people who suffer with Dementia and Alzheimer’s. We see the great work being done by the Alzheimers Association locally so we are glad to be able to help out with some fundraising for them.’

Bluebird Care’s recent Training workshops in Kilkenny and Waterford covering Disability Awarenss and Mental Health received excellent feedback from all Care Staff who attended. Brian Egan Managing Director said ‘we ran these training sessions last year and felt it made sense to run them again as part of our continuous training program. The training was done by Disability Consultancy Services and all the topics covered should hopefully be of benefit to the carers in their work’
Brian added ‘ we are now already planning our next training which will cover important areas such as Palliative Care, further training on Elder Abuse and an overview on record keeping and Documentation’
We are providing care for people of all ages and with a range of different needs throughout Carlow, Kilkenny and Waterford so having experienced and trained care staff is so important’.

The Waterford and Kilkenny Bluebird Care office are delighted to announce the appointment of Liz Carey (RGN) to the key position of Care Manager.
Liz has significant experience in providing Care both in the community and in residential settings. Liz is passionate about delivering a high standard of care and is looking forward to ensuring that through Bluebird Care’s high standards and flexible Care service people can continue to live in comfort in their own homes.

Liz has the responsibility for managing the Carer recruitment and training process as well as supervising and appraising the carers and supporting them in their roles. Liz will also be responsible for completing risk assesments and individualised Care Plans for customers and ensuring that these are reviewed on a regular basis. Liz aims to build relationships with customers and Healthcare professionals throughout Carlow, Kilkenny and Waterford.

‘I am very happy to have Liz on board as she will definitely add value to the team and she will be an important part of developing the business and ensuring that all Care is delivered to an extremely high standard for all customers’ said Brian Egan Director of Bluebird Care.

Training and up-skilling of Care staff is a key focus in Bluebird Care. As part of the continuous training and development program at Bluebird Care Waterford & Kilkenny a very interesting information training session on Parkinson’s and Motor Neurones recently took place.

‘I was so impressed with your obvious commitment, and with the carers. I have rarely if ever had that degree of intelligent questioning at talks’

This was the feedback from Ann Keilthy a Parkinson’s sufferer who gave a very interesting talk and gave Bluebird Care an insight into her life living with Parkinsons. ‘We were privileged to hear Ann’s story and to see how a Parkinson’s sufferer can live a very fulfilled life although there are many areas to overcome and be aware of’ said Brian Egan Director of Bluebird Care Waterford/Kilkenny. ‘We are caring for people with Parkinsons so its important that Bluebird Care staff’s awareness is increased so it was also very beneficial for staff to hear the detailed presentation from Parkinson’s Nurse specialist Alison Cashel.

There was also a module on Motor Neurones Diseases and this was delivered by nurse specialist Fidelma Rutledge from the Irish Motor Neurones Disease Association. ‘This was a very informative presentation and the interest from Care staff in this area was clearly evident from the amount of questions fielded by Fidelma’ according to Brian.

Bluebird Care Management also gave an update on important areas such as Policies and Procedures and Elder Abuse. ‘Care staff knowledge and awareness of Elder Abuse is so so important’ said Brian. ‘ We update staff with our policies on Elder Abuse and we liaise with HSE senior case workers in this area and we hope to roll out some more Elder Abuse training in the near future. Looking forward other training plans for Bluebird Care Waterford and Kilkenny consist of information sessions on Multiple Sclerosis, Disability Awareness and Mental Health.

The Bluebird Care Waterford/Kilkenny office has scheduled two Dementia Training workshops for all Care Staff . The training will be provided by Deirdre Lenihan of DML Nursing Services. Deirdre has more than 20 years experience in Care of the Elderly, Dementia and Challenging Behaviours in both the private and public healthcare sectors.

Training is a key focus area for Care staff in Bluebird Care and the Dementia training follows on from the very successful Disability Awareness training workshops which took  place recently. Training and upskilling of staff is hugely important and ensures that carers are competent and confident when providing Care in the home, according to Brian Egan the Managing Director of the Bluebird Care Waterford/Kilkenny office.  Brian continued to say that ‘The Dementia training is just one module of our continuous training programme but its a very important area so hopefully all staff will benefit from it’ . There are currently more than 44,000 people in Ireland with dementia, with the number expected to be in excess of 104,000 by 2036 unless there is a medical breakthrough so it is important that Care Staff can have the opportunity to increase their knowledge in this area.

Care Staff in Bluebird Care Waterford & Kilkenny have recently completed Disability Awareness Training and feedback has been very positive.  The Disability Awareness Workshops were conducted by Disability Consultancy Services a highly regarded training company in the area of Disability Training and the training was also supported by FAS.

The training covered a wide range of areas and Evaluation forms clearly show Care staff thoroughly enjoyed the workshop and felt it would be very beneficial in their daily working lives.

Brian Egan, Managing Director of Bluebird Care Waterford & Kilkenny said, “This Disability Awareness Training forms part of the overall Bluebird Care training programme which is a key focus area in Bluebird Care”. Brian added that having fully trained, competent, confident and garda vetted care staff is so important to ensure that the highest quality standards of Care are delivered on a consistent basis and this is something that all Bluebird Care offices are committed to. ” We are delighted to have a very strong team of experienced Care Workers and this is down to a very thorough screening process, our detailed staff files and our focus on training and continuous upskilling”.

Bluebird Care Waterford/Kilkenny can be contacted on 051 898 111 or 056 780 6054.