“Our Aim Is To Support And Unite The Social Care Sector Under One Roof”
Written By Maisie Bull (www.blueskycard.uk)
When The Blue Sky Social Care Card was first in the works, it was all because we noticed the astonishing lack of societal appreciation of social care staff during the COVID -19 pandemic.
Everyone had been banging their pots and pans for NHS staff for their hard work and sacrifice (deservedly so), but society were unaware when it came to the hard work and sacrifice of the social care workers, almost as if they forgot the scenes and stories shared on the news from inside care homes. The same social care workers who worked the same hours as NHS staff, saw the same devastation, and faced the same risks.
NHS staff get discounts with other big-name cards on the market, but these cards only cater to a tiny section of the social care world. You have to be CQC registered, or they are not interested. All social care staff deserve to have access to the same discounts as NHS staff. Especially since the average annual social care worker wage is between £21k – £23k and NHS staffs average wage is around £35k plus all the NHS benefits.
We decided that we could no longer stand by and watch, as the social care sector continued to be forgtten and treated as an afterthought to the NHS staff in the UK.
When thinking about who was going to be eligible, we knew quickly that we were not going to be militant about our criteria. At the end of the day, whether someone is an unpaid carer or a care home administrator, both work hard within the care sector to keep it going and deserve to be celebrated for their contributions to our communities.
We also wanted to make it easier for care businesses to show their staff appreciation. The social care staff shortage existed way before the COVID-19 pandemic. This definitely isn’t a fix for that, but if it can help care staff members feel appreciated by their employers whilst also being able to save a few pennies and pounds, it is the bare minimum.
At Blue Sky Social Care Card, we are wanting to do more than provide ID and discounts, our aim is to support and unite the social care sector under one roof by giving them an online platform, just for them, something to belong to.
We are a small team of four people who do it all; production, events, marketing, you name it – anything to get the card to the people who need it. All whilst providing national recruitment support, direct payments and HR. All these funds go to our charity, Disability Direct, which provides support to disabled people, their families and carers.
We ran head-first into this in March this year with the intention of getting the word out to as many people as possible. We have been attending lots of events across the UK and listening to so many carers, managers and unpaid carers, telling us how this card would benefit them. Hearing their wants and needs around a product like this has made us make some changes for the better, after all this is a user-led product.
We never expected for the card to be used on the high-street, we thought it would be strictly digital. However, the fact that it is already being accepted in high-street stores across the UK is huge for us and our members. We are taking on new discounts online and on the high-street regularly. It’s a very exciting time for society to be recognising and showing their appreciation for social care! Watch this space!
