The managing director of a new Aberdeen care company has described how his grandmother’s poor treatment led to him starting his own business.
Minesh Chopra was working as an Aldi store manager in the city when his grandmother, who had dementia, was placed in care.
He believes a lack of care contributed to her death two years ago.
Minesh said: “If the quality of care had been looked at and reviewed in more depth, then maybe my grandma’s situation would have been different.
“My grandmother didn’t even know her carer’s name. All she knew was that they were coming out to assist her.
“When we spoke about the care she was receiving, she didn’t give any information which was alarming for us as a family. There was no sense of communication between the client and the carer.”
The heartache of his grandmother’s death has inspired Minesh to start his own care company to help raise standards in the city.
Giving back to the community
He secured the Bluebird Care franchise for Aberdeen City and Shire last summer and now has five members of staff.
It provides a range of services to help people live independently in their own homes.
Minesh says helping people is top of his list of priorities.
He said: “I have always known that I wanted to help people.
“Bluebird Care Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire support people to stay at home, where they feel most comfortable, surrounded by their family in a familiar environment.
“This helps to give them confidence, reassurance and a sense of control over their lives.
“We will be able to see the positive impact of our work through our customer’s time with us.”
Fragmented care sector in Aberdeen
He said there is a strong demand for care services in Aberdeen.
However, the large number of care providers means there is a wide variety of standards.
He continued: “There are many small, independent providers competing against each other.
“This can result in inconsistent levels of service quality, lack of scalability, and limited access to the latest technology and innovations.
“Many existing providers struggle to recruit and retain high-quality staff due to a lack of investment in training, development, and support.
“There is an overwhelming number of individuals who need care and support services at home.
“We will provide high-quality, consistent, and scalable services to the Aberdeen home care market.”
Bluebird Care
Currently, the Bluebird Care team is made up of Minesh, registered manager Alicia Laurie and a small team of carers.
He plans to recruit a supervisor and coordinator for the company this year.
Minesh said: “We aim to attract the highest quality care experts, whom we will continually invest in, in terms of training and upskilling.”
Mind, body, and soul is a new service offered by the business. The service encourages and supports clients to take part in simple, healthy activities, which may include something as basic as walking or dancing.
The director wants to use current technology and continuous innovation to ensure he gives the best possible customer experience.
In the next two years, he hopes to add more franchise areas in the north of Scotland and Inverness.
Changing the quality of life
With a standard rate of £29.85 an hour, Bluebird believes it gives good value for money.
Minesh added: “We don’t focus on the cost; we focus on the quality and delivery of care at that rate.
“We deliver the care regardless of what the patient needs.
“It’s about the quality of care and we are here to make a difference right now.”
The Aberdeen business pays its staff above the minimum wage as it believes colleagues on a higher wage will deliver better care.
