Our team at
Manor Lodge

I’ve worked for Care UK before, originally in 2016, and I came back in February 2018. I wanted to work for a big organisation with policies and procedures in place and where new and innovative approaches to care are embraced. 

I enjoy every day at work, from the moment I walk through the door and see my colleagues and residents, to when I assist residents at meal times and have the chance to get to know them. The best part is when we are met with a challenge and we pull together as team; we remain calm and work through it and at the end of it we come out stronger.

We’re more like a family here, and I look forward to seeing everyone every day. One of the best parts of the day is having a chat with residents who pop into see me. They talk about what they’ve been doing and we have a laugh. I also enjoy getting to know residents’ family members and building relationships with them.

I’ve worked for Care UK since 2018. Recruitment is quite a big part of what I do at Manor Lodge. Recruitment in the care sector continues to be challenging, but when we recruit new, talented and caring people it makes such a difference to the home, the team, and the residents.

Since being at the home, I’ve supported colleagues to progress and grow in their roles and develop their confidence. It gives me great satisfaction to know that I’ve helped colleagues to get more from their roles.

I used to work in a hospital but a friend told me about the vacancy here and suggested I apply. Manor Lodge is an usual care home because it has an in-house physiotherapist and a physiotherapy gym, but it has made all the difference to so many of the residents.

When residents move into the home, it’s often thought that they have no hope of regaining their mobility. We prove everyone wrong! Many people have been discharged back to living in their homes thanks to the physiotherapy service we’ve given them in combination with the ‘outstanding’-rated care and support provided by the whole Manor Lodge team. 

I get such a huge sense of achievement from the work I do here. Nothing beats seeing a person rediscovering their mobility and independence, and their happiness at what we’ve done for them.

Outside of work, I enjoy going on holidays with my family, or just spending as much time as I can with the people I love.

To be good in this role you need to be good at fixing things and DIY. I believe my biggest professional challenge in this role has been maintaining and keeping a home of this size up to date.

So far, my biggest career highlight to date has been the award I won for maintenance man of the year in 2014.

When I’m not working, I enjoy going to the cinema, eating out and getting out in my garden.

I fancied a change and a new challenge, and a chance to work with a great team helping other people.

I like the hands-on nature of this role. I have a lot of autonomy and can organise my day in the way I want, which suits me well. I enjoy all aspects of my role – it’s very varied – including chatting to the residents and learning more about their lives, and ensuring their rooms are exactly how they want them. 

One of the new parts of my role that I’ve had to learn is fire safety. Ensuring that the home is safe for the residents and my colleagues is my main priority, and I take it very seriously. I’ve also learnt new systems that are unique to Care UK, which has involved paperwork and computers. It’s been great to be learning new things and I’m pleased with what I’ve achieved so far. 

I’m looking forward to getting to know the team and the residents more over the coming months, and finding ways to enhance the home to ensure it’s a happy and safe place for people to live and work.

I’m a trained chef and also have a publican’s licence. I’ve been a head chef in hotels, pubs and restaurants, as well as in care homes.

You have to be able to think on your feet in this role. While it’s important to be organised, you need a calm head as things can sometimes change at the last minute. Being imaginative, a good communicator and good at leading a team all help too!

I get a huge sense of achievement from my role, knowing, at the end of the day, that what I’ve done has made residents happy and helped them to enjoy a lovely quality of life. I have a superb team – we work very well together. Everyone is focused on the ultimate aim: keeping the residents of Manor Lodge happy. We’re also very determined to maintain our ‘outstanding’ CQC rating!

Away from work, I enjoy gardening, knitting and going for trips in my VW campervan. Deep down I’m a hippie!

My mum is the Home Manager. I haven’t looked back – I’m one of the team now!

My role includes meeting and greeting visitors, and showing them my toys, and doing whatever I can to make the residents of Manor Lodge feel special. I’m pretty good at sitting on laps.

My favourite part of the day is coming into work and saying hello to all my friends. Toffee is the other therapy dog at Manor Lodge and we’re a double act – there are a lot of residents to see, so it takes two of us to get around everyone.

After a couple of hours of being stroked and fussed over, I like to have a little nap – well it’s hard work, I can tell you! I might head off to the park to play with my duck toy or to chase a ball (sometimes I even bring it back). Then I like to cool down with an ice lolly. Looking forward to seeing you soon at Manor Lodge!