Nicola Mellotte has been appointed Country Director for the Republic of Ireland at Bluebird Care, a major player in Ireland’s homecare health-services sector.
The appointment was announced by Jonathan Gardner, Managing Director of Bluebird Care.
Welcoming the new Country Director’s pharmaceutical background and extensive knowledge of Irish healthcare, Gardner said the role will support the Irish Bluebird Care business operators to scale services to meet rapidly growing market demand.
“Nicola is vastly experienced in healthcare business development, with exceptional vision and an entrepreneurial skillset. She will complement and strengthen the Bluebird Care expansion, working with our regional business operators to evolve and grow our caring resources.”
The Bluebird Care business currently comprises 26 offices nationwide, in the Republic of Ireland, that are locally-owned and operated. The business is set for rapid expansion, and will launch a significant recruitment campaign in July, to grow its numbers of caring professionals.
An accomplished biopharmaceutical professional, with twenty years’ management experience, Nicola Mellotte has worked in healthcare business development across Ireland and the UK.
Prior to joining Bluebird Care, she was a Programme Manager for the Health Service Executive in the Health Protection Surveillance Centre in Dublin, overseeing the Whole Genomic Sequencing Programme that produces data to inform national public health policy.
Mellotte has worked with bio-pharma businesses including Shire Pharmaceuticals, Ipsen Pharmaceuticals and Abbott EPD, providing operational and sales supports, creating high-performance teams to develop and launch new products, and establishing regulatory and compliance units.
Within Bluebird Care, Mellotte’s role is in supporting the company’s regional homecare operators in market development, staff resourcing, training and operational procedures.
Bluebird Care provides direct care to clients on behalf of the HSE and other agencies, in addition to serving clients in a private capacity. The homecare offering is for people of all ages and varying degrees of ability, including children and adults with intellectual or physical disability, as well as older people living alone, or recuperating.
Ireland’s growing ageing population, and pressures on the provision of long-term care and public health services, is driving unprecedented demand for private operators in the market. Increasing numbers of elderly people prefer the option of living safely and comfortably in their own homes, and this eases pressure on other care options, and supports patient choice and quality of care, the Bluebird Care Country Director says.
“Homecare workers are now more vital than ever, as a trusted source in home and community-based care, meaning our ageing population are supported to live independently for longer.
“Market demand means caring roles offer very good terms, comprehensive training and a structured career path. There is flexibility in working hours too, for those with a busy home life or who want a better work/life balance and a meaningful patient-centred caring role.”
Nicola Mellotte is a BSc graduate of the University of Galway and holds an MBA from the Smurfit Business School at University College Dublin.
