“Everything we do is about people”. Come and work with us
What we do is definitely different
I served in the Women’s Royal Army Corps from 1977 to 1986, serving in London, Germany and Cyprus with the Royal Signals in the area of Specialist Communications. I am really passionate about what we do and how we provide an excellent level of service to people in our Home. I haven’t seen better care anywhere else, particularly the dementia care model we deliver.
I say this drawing from my own personal experience. My grandmother, lived with dementia towards the later years of her life in a nursing home which did its best but the care of those living with dementia was not ideal. This was all I knew at the time as I had no previous experience and was just grateful that someone was “looking after” her. But now, seeing what we are able to do at The Royal Star & Garter Homes, it is heartening and brings tears of joy when I receive a smile or hear laughter from a resident living in one of our Homes.
With all the new exciting developments in the charity, we are now in the middle of a big recruitment drive for our new High Wycombe Home. What we’re initially looking for is skills and experience. But that’s only the first stage, as it is only when we start meeting people, when we talk to them, invite them to our assessment days, that we can really understand if they really fit with the values and ethos we want to deliver. Do they really care is the question we need to answer.
The Royal Star & Garter Homes family
Staff working in our Homes are not task-focussed, it’s about wanting to provide loving care, in a homely environment. Our care delivery is based on the Dementia Care Matters model, and the emphasis is on providing a family environment where you would be happy for your own mother to live and be cared for.
In return, we invest in our staff, because you can’t expect them to care for residents at the level that we expect if you don’t provide them the same level of care and commitment. We pay fairly, we offer lots of opportunities for development and learning, and when staff need help, we are there to listen and make sure that they can access the services that they need to support them both at work and in their personal life.
We have people who stay with us for a long time and have recently reintroduced a ‘Long Service Award’. We started by celebrating the Solihull Home’s tenth birthday, and a group of staff who had been in that Home from the day we opened. Similarly, we did a catch up at the Hampton head office and celebrated with some staff who had worked for us for more than 20 years!
In our Surbiton Home our longest serving member of the team has just retired after 42 years. People do stay with us because they feel valued, they have access to development opportunities and there is a very good working environment – and I think we are unique in that way.
The Royal Star & Garter Homes has a great family feeling. We work with passion and commitment because the cause is compelling: and whilst the group of people we care for is small, they are well deserving. As a Charity we will always require passionate, committed, and positive people to work and volunteer with us. We are committed to making a difference and helping to raise awareness of how elderly care can and should be delivered.