Meet the Briardene Care Home Team

I play an important role supporting the General Manager of Briardene, showing kindness and care to clients, supporting families and supporting the team. I do this whilst monitoring care delivery through audit, observation, and working alongside staff to deliver care. I see myself as a role model to others.

I am passionate about care of individuals with complex mental health needs and ensure that the care is as I would want for myself. From admission to when clients leave, I strive to deliver, monitor and maintain good, effective care. I support families and have a lovely relationship with those I see as being part of our team. I recognise the effects of mental ill health and deal with issues and deterioration with compassion, empathy and a caring attitude.

I am the recognised Champion for Infection Control, keeping standards maintained in all nursing care procedures. I carry out the audit for infection control, and chair the meeting to discuss outcomes, whilst incorporating this into the Clinical Governance systems.

I encourage training and development of staff, and monitor the training through liaison with our trainer, and training statistics. I firmly believe that staff development and maintenance of high standards is through education and encouragement of staff.

I have become champion for Palliative Care, passing on the knowledge I have to ensure that when the time comes, care for those at end of life is quality care, so the memory of the loss of a loved one is the best it can be. In recent years, I have used my qualification of verification of death to ensure dignity, knowledge and respect are continued up to when a client leaves our care  .

My role is varied, from nursing to managerial. I enjoy the challenges the role brings, and the benefit I can bring to those I care for.

Hello, I’m Lisa and I am the Home Administrator here at Briardene. I work closely with the General Manager and the staff, visitors and families with any queries, problems or questions they may have. I assist with the transitioning into the home, whether it be a new resident or staff member and I am always here to help where I can, my door is always open.

I look after the home’s financials such as Budgets and expenditure, Purchase Ordering, Sales Ledger, Management Accounts and Petty Cash.  

I oversee the homes HR processes, recording of staff hours, recruitment and training records.

I joined the team here at Briardene in 2018 and I have never looked back, it is a fabulous place to work where residents and colleagues are now my extended family. I was in the military for a lot of years and coming to work here really helped me settle back into civilian life. I brought with me a vast amount of knowledge and experience in the Administration field as it has been a huge part of my career from leaving school, however, the training I have received working in a Barchester home has really expanded this knowledge.

Claire Gibson, Dip HE Bsc (Hons) Psych and Couns is the Therapy Coordinator and the Head of Therapy Department, The Well Being Champion for the staff and The Dementia Champion for the residents at Briardene. The Therapy Team Claire leads consists of an Activities Organiser, Holistic Therapist and a Music Therapist. Claire supports and guides her team to provide meaningful and enriching interventions that have a positive impact on the residents Biopsychosocial wellbeing.

Her approach has very many different levels to it from those residents who can complete a task/occupation for start to finish with minimal support to another resident that may be involved in the group for emotional sensory support using feeling, tasting, smelling evoking memories. Claire’s ethos is everyone still has ability it’s how we unlock it to its full potential to have a positive impact on their life and their families. The families see the positive changes and often comment that they can’t believe the difference in their loved one.  Claire’s individual personality and professional approach inspires those around her showing how anything is possible in Dementia with the right approach for the individual resident. Claire has achieved many awards recognising her hard work and approach with those living with Complex Dementia care needs, these include 3 divisional awards for activities/therapies and 2 regional awards, 1 for activities and 1 for her Customer Care. 

My name is Kevin. I’ve been here at Briardene as the head Chef for nine years now, prior to this I served 23 Years in the Army as a Chef.

Since I have been part of the Briardene team I have won the chef of the year 2016.  This year 2023 I am in the final of the Chef of the year. We have entered into numerous competitions with in Barchester.  We have won the Christmas cake competition 3 times and the Easter cake 2 times also.  Once a year Barchester hold a weekly nutrition and hydration competition where we as a catering team have to create the ultimate week to show case our skills. The catering department also support the activities team where we plan themed days and the food will play a big part in this.

The most important part of my job is obviously catering for all the lovely Clients that live at Briardene. My team and I make sure that they all get the best possible catering service which is a very important part of their daily life.

Since I started at Briardene I have retained the 5 Star rating awarded by the environmental health team that inspects unannounced every 18 months. I am extremely proud of this.

Hello, I am Sarah and I am the Administration Assistant. Even though we all use a whole home approach to our jobs here at Briardene, I am likely to be the one who will answer your calls or greet you at the door. I have worked at Briardene since 2021. Before this I was an Activities Co-Ordinator at another care home in the area, and when I saw my chance to broaden my knowledge in the Administration sector, I jumped at the chance.

Whilst being here I have gone from strength to strength in my knowledge and experience, I assist with all the aspects that the Home Administrator manages and really feel part of a fabulous team. I have established some great relationships with residents and their families, it is a lovely place to work.

In my own time I am a DJ and entertainer which has come in handy at Briardene on occasion when the Activity Department have thrown parties and discos. I am always willing to help out any department where I can.

At the moment I am working towards my Level 3 in Business Administration and as I always like to better myself, I have an aspiration of being a Barchester Home Administrator one day.

Adela is the Activities Organiser as part of the Therapy Team at Briardene where she promotes residents health and wellbeing especially in mental health.

Adela does this by supporting and enabling activity, task or routine to maintain what makes a resident unique. This uniqueness is maintained to help promote recovery and keep residents at their optimum. Meaningful activities support dementia care for the residents at Briardene to maintain their abilities and enhance mood, behaviour, relationships and ultimately quality of life, Adela promotes this in all of her work, and more. She helps clients communicate and share memories, using reminiscence and life story work. She brings back smiles and even tears, which has proven to be a vital tool in care planning and managing any complex needs. She can often be seen sharing a moment with a client, who may be sat, looking bewildered by their environment, or reacting to unfamiliar noises around them. She will calm a resident with distraction techniques, using a familiar names or terms to give them self-esteem, meaning and confidence.

Adela makes sure she provides an enriched activity plan for those that reside at Briardene, this includes families, loved ones and the local community. No request is too small for Adela to fulfil.

Claire is the Complementary Therapist at Briardene. She spent numerous years training in this domain whilst being a support worker at Briardene.

Claire is trained in providing Reflexology, Indian head massage, Aromatherapy, hairdressing and beauty. These interventions in complex care compliment the holistic approach to improving a person's wellbeing without the use of medication. Her calm approach is very soothing to all and very appropriate in the setting. The aim of the therapies provided by Claire is to improve and promote a residents well-being and independence, boost cognitive functioning, stimulate memory, aid and improve relaxation and sleep patterns, reduce pain and so much more enhancing the quality of life of those living with mental health illness.

Claire is also a qualified hairdresser and for some living at Briardene a trip to the hairdressers can induce sensory overload.  Claire can provide a wonderful hairdressing experience in the hair salon at Briardene at a pace and convenience of the resident to suit their needs.

Mary Raunikar Page is a HCPC-registered music therapist. Originally from the US, she trained in Arizona and is qualified to practice music therapy in both the US and the UK. Mary utilises music-based activities to cognitively engage residents and to support their mental health and wellbeing.  Her primary instrument is the harp, which she applies in her sessions for relaxation and enjoyment. Outside of Barchester, Mary plays the concert pedal harp for various functions around the northeast and records tracks with cosy themes.