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Our team at
Winchcombe Place

Trusted to care in Newbury, Berkshire

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Meet our friendly care team

The Winchcombe Place team is large and diverse team but we’re all passionate about your loved one’s care, health and wellbeing. We support each other to do our best work and are here for you, our residents’ family members, too. Take a look at our colleague profiles to find out more about some of our team.

Shirley Summerbell

Home Manager

Shirley Summerbell

I started my career as a Peripatetic Home Manager, working across the UK, making sure care homes met regulators standards.

I joined Care UK in 2016 because I felt it would be a supportive and rewarding company to a be a part of and I was correct.

I’ve seen the high standard of care for residents and great teams. Everyone is very committed to ensuring that every resident is happy and cared for. There’s always a lot to do in my role, but by far my most favourite part of the day is when I walk around the home, checking everything is okay, and chatting to residents, relatives and my team.

I enjoy getting to know the residents and welcoming new people into the home.

Suzanne Tullett
Deputy Manager

I joined the Care UK in 2017, my previous role was a Pharmacy Deputy Manager-Technician.

I was working for a community pharmacy providing a medication service to Care UK care homes. I wanted to see the other side, work in a place of value and care.

To be a successful in this role you must be caring, compassionate and promote, wellbeing, dignity, and autonomy. My favourite part of the day is seeing the residents attending the activities and living a meaningful life.

I look forward to learning lots here at Winchcombe Place care home, meeting new people and learning all new areas and histories.

Vicki Lambourne
Senior Customer Relations Manager

Being a customer relations manager, or CRM, involves doing all the tasks I love to do – liaising with a wide range of different people and supporting older people and their families through what can be a very stressful time as they search for the right care home.

I love being part of a team that’s making a difference to people’s lives.

I joined Winchcombe Place in June 2019, and I’m enjoying getting to know the team and the residents themselves. I used to work in recruitment and events, so I love working with different people. I’ve also worked in domiciliary care, so I knew I wanted to continue working in the care sector. 

In my spare time I enjoy socialising with my friends and family, and doing some travelling. I also enjoy watching motorbike racing.  

Liz Cable
Lifestyle Coordinator/Lead

I started working for Care UK in 2014.

Before joining the organisation I was an Operations Manager for a national catering company. This is very different, but I love the rewarding nature of my job – being able to have a positive impact on a person’s day. When I bring a smile to a person’s face or I make them laugh it’s a fantastic feeling.

Quite a few of the residents at Winchcombe Place are living with dementia and are at different stages of their dementia journey. I work hard to see the person behind the dementia. Every person we care for is an individual, with different needs. One of the key things I’ve learnt in this role is to be alert to a person’s body language when you’re doing an activity with them, particularly if their verbal communication has been affected by dementia. Their body language can give you important insights into how they’re feeling.

One of the biggest highlights of this role was when I took a resident on a barge trip. This particular person hadn’t left the home, and hadn’t spoken, for nearly two years. At the end of the trip they smiled at me and said, “Thank you. That was lovely”.

Gary Shaw
Head Chef

I have 20 years’ experience working in the catering industry, but for years I have cooked for people who wanted food, whereas now I am cooking for people who need food and it is much more rewarding.

My biggest professional challenge so far has been to run a 280-seat restaurant with a team of 16 chefs in Edinburgh. My highlight was catering the opening of the Dolphin Adventure Centre in Pangbourne and meeting Prince Edward, who was opening the centre.

My role requires you to be good at listening to what the residents want and what their expectations are. It is also very important to have a good team and get them to contribute their ideas into work practices and menus.

Outside of work I enjoy spending time with my partner and kids, as well as the occasional game of golf.

David Chandler
Maintenance

I’ve been working for Care UK since 2017, and prior to that was Maintenance Manager at a medium secure hospital for many years.

I wanted to join the Winchcombe Place team because I felt I had valuable skills and experience to bring which would benefit older people.

Moving my career to Care UK has been such a great move for me – challenging me and enabling me to develop. I think it’s important to be professional and caring in this role, and it’s vital that everything you do is done with understanding, and a smile.

Every resident at Winchcombe Place, and at all other Care UK homes, is ‘resident of the day’ at least once a month. This is a chance to ensure that their care and lifestyle and all aspects of their daily life are meeting their needs and wishes. As part of this initiative I check the resident’s bedroom to ensure it’s safe and everything is working properly. I get to have a chat with them too, which is very rewarding, and gives me a chance to get to know them better.

Bella
Canine Relations Manager

My mum, Julie is the Business Administrator at the home, and I’m a helper too.

I came to work with her one day and didn’t want to leave, so we made the decision that I should work here on a permanent basis as part of the team.

My job is to put smiles on faces and to share the love. I visit all floors within the home and I can even come to your room if you wish. I have so much love to give that I just to share it with anyone I meet. I love a stroke and cuddle, but if I sit longer enough will I get an extra biscuit or three?

I am here to be your furry best friend, you can even take me for a walk – perhaps to the shop to share a fresh pack of digestives?

Our experienced teams

Every day Care UK colleagues live our values of passionate, caring and teamwork to empower residents to enjoy fulfilling lives.

Careers

If you are keen to be part of a growing organisation that’s focused on delivering high quality care while having fun in a family atmosphere, get started with Care UK today.

Visit our careers page

Lifestyle

Our dedicated lifestyle teams work hard to organise a range of activities and events at our home. From gardening and baking to quizzes, music sessions and even live entertainment. Above all, we get to know your loved one to make sure our activities are tailored to suit their interests and hobbies.

Home support roles

From catering to maintenance, housekeeping to administration, our home support teams play a crucial part in ensuring individuals enjoy an exceptional and safe service every day.

All our teams get to know each person they care for to ensure they provide a service that’s designed around their unique needs and tastes. 

Infection control

Each of our homes have a trained Infection Control and Prevention Champion – they are responsible for carrying out daily infection control audit and ensuring cleaning protocols are meticulously applied.