Azure Care, a Kent-based homecare provider serving around 45 clients, including people living with dementia, learning disabilities, complex conditions, and long-term health needs.

In 2023, the team was aiming to move from CQC 'Good' to ‘Outstanding’. To do that, the team needed to do more than just provide great care - they had to prove it. This meant finding a way to clearly evidence the incredible work they were doing every day.

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Before partnering with Birdie, Azure Care was wrestling with a care management system that was primarily built for rostering. This meant critical information was scattered; care plans, risk assessments, and client reviews were all created and stored offline, completely separate from their digital tools.

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This disjointed approach created hours of wasted time every day. "We were spending so much time trying to piece things together," recalls co-founder Kiran Gill. "When you're trying to run day-to-day care operations, speed is quite important. Having to log on to a server to get certain documents, then log on to the care management service to get different documents, it just becomes really difficult."

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Without one place for all their information, the team not only struggled with admin levels, but they crucially lacked something that's critical to getting that coveted 'Outstanding': visibility.

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Azure Care knew that in order to reach Outstanding, they couldn't afford to keep working with a system that weighed them down: they needed a system that would give them better visibility and control. When evaluating options, Birdie stood out for one key reason: it was a complete, end-to-end solution designed specifically for their needs.

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"It just felt like it had been built for care providers," says Kiran. "It felt like it was for us. It was practical, it was easy to use, and the reporting side was a huge aspect for us. It felt like a complete, holistic system that would fit all aspects of everything we needed to do in one place."

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The most immediate impact was having all care and operational information in one place. This created powerful efficiencies, saving an estimated 15-25% in administrative hours per week.

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With Birdie now embedded in their operations, the team shifted from simply managing care to actively improving it, using the insights now at their fingertips.

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Birdie Analytics: see everything, miss nothing

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Birdie's analytics was a game-changer that empowered Azure Care to truly understand and improve their quality of care.

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"Birdie Analytics just takes the guesswork out of things," says Kiran. "We can see patterns and trends, spot gaps, and focus on what really matters."

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This data-driven approach was central to their CQC success:

• Targeted quality improvement: Using the Birdie Q-Score—a unique dashboard that provides a monthly rating of their care quality performance in line with the CQC—the team could instantly see which care plans needed focus, helping them target their efforts and maintain high standards.
• Greater client visibility: By using reports to coach their team on best practices, the average number of meaningful observations recorded per visit has increased from around 1–2 to between 4 and 10, giving Azure Care far greater visibility of client wellbeing.
• Better responsiveness: Birdie has reduced alert resolution times from up to 24 hours to typically within 1–3 hours, significantly improving the team's ability to act proactively on emerging risks.
• Ensuring quality visit time: Using Birdie Analytics, the team identified why some visits were being cut short. By understanding whether it was client preference or carer practice, they increased the proportion of visits lasting at least 75% of their scheduled duration from 72% to over 95% - achieving this consistently within just 6–8 weeks.
• Better client outcomes: When a client required additional support, the team used Birdie to instantly pull care logs and notes. This helped them build a compelling, evidence-based case for social services that was quickly approved.

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With the transparency also came simplicity. Thanks to making structured, real-time evidence instantly available, Birdie also reduced Azure Care's CQC inspection preparation time from an "all hands on deck" effort to just 1-2 days of collective time.

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Azure Care’s ‘Outstanding’ rating is a testament to the incredible care team, with Birdie as the essential partner that empowered them to prove it.

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This data-driven approach had a direct impact on families, as Kiran notes, "Clients and families all mention that they love that our carers don’t rush and stay the duration. They feel they are getting value for money. This has definitely contributed to the Outstanding."The CQC inspectors themselves seemed to agree. "The impression I get is that the CQC inspectors are very favourable when it comes to Birdie," Kiran adds. "They recognise it's a good system.”

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With an ‘Outstanding’ rating now secured, Azure Care is using Birdie’s data insights to maintain that high standard and continue to grow. For Kiran, the journey is just beginning. Her advice to other providers considering a change is simple:

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"Don't wait. If you want to grow and if you want to stay compliant, then having the right system makes a huge difference. The data and the analytics that Birdie has offered has really helped us change the way that we do things, and I think that is a combination that is truly winning."

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