OUR STAFF
our Chairman, Chris Mitchell:
“Welcome to The Manor House!
Welcome to The Manor House
We are a family run company, and intend to keep things that way. We have owned and run care homes of all categories for more than twelve years and live, breathe and eat the Sector! All our senior team are in the home constantly, supporting our terrific manager and staff in everything they do, be it to review equipment and the environment to further improve levels of care, right through to the very best training money can buy in an ever changing and increasingly regulatory sector. However, this is our domain to deliver, and not for you to worry about! What you need to make sure of is that you find the right home for you or your loved one, safe in the knowledge that the care – THE most important point of all – is there. We pride ourselves on ensuring that in almost every case, our residents only have to make this choice once. A home for life in every sense of the meaning, whatever the future holds.
We cater for all levels of need, with care for those living with dementia featuring prominently. This terribly debilitating and progressive illness features heavily in the press as you will all know, but rest assured the fight to combat the challenges that we face is never more prevalent than in our care homes. As Chairman of the company, I graduated in 2015 with a degree in Dementia Studies from Bradford University, (not bad for a 58 year old!) the leading light in research and training into the physical and psychological effects of this awful condition. Being candid, I did not of course take this degree to improve my CV, but because I saw it as my duty and responsibility to understand the issues facing our residents, their loved ones and our staff every single day.
On a lighter note, The Manor House is all about happiness too! Our slogan, ‘Making New Memories’, is exactly how we see it. Making that massive decision to move into full time care is understandably daunting, but should be about starting a new chapter of one’s life rather than a backward step. We are all about support when you need it, independence when you want it and everything in between. We have literally hundreds of testimonials which I will never tire of receiving, so why not find out why we get so many! On this site, the home speaks for itself, but we all need to get that warm, cosy feeling that can ONLY be achieved by a visit. We look forward to seeing you!’’
Chris
Dariusz
Orszulewski
Home Manager
Introducing Dariusz, our wonderful care home manager
There are not many times we interview someone, and the meeting goes on for most of the day! This was how it went when we met Dariusz. We were all enthralled by his ideas about care of the elderly, meeting the needs of those with a range of complex conditions right through to the immensely important tasks surrounding the ethos of person centred and one to one care and dialogue with our residents and their families. These are the issues closest to his heart. His dedication to researching this particular topic has reaped him enormously satisfying rewards, successfully turning around inadequate care homes, homes in distress, changing care home cultures and introducing inspiring ideas at these homes that were clear for all to see as a result of his great work.
We are now lucky to have him with us at The Manor House, where in the initial stages he will work closely with Leanne Hatch, our outgoing manager who is moving on to her new role at our brand new care village, Lavender Fields near Barmby Moor. www.lavenderfieldscarevillage.co.uk We feel that the two of them working together on the changeover is massively important for the care continuity and indeed Leanne has been a part of The Manor House for so many years she is both keen to ensure a good transition and equally delighted that she leaves the home in excellent hands.
Dariusz says: “What an opportunity! I knew as soon as I met the Directors that they completely saw the vision I have for the delivery of care for our residents. It felt like coming home even though I had only just met with them all. I am really excited about working with the residents, families and staff at The Manor House and look forward to us all working together for many years.”
Chris
Lane
Finance Director
Chris’ titles would stretch right across the page, were we to list everything he Excels in! A chartered accountant by profession, working in both accountancy practices and then later in industry, unlike any other accountant we have ever known, he busies himself on all aspects of care delivery. He is the guy responsible for overseeing the entire financial operations of the company, reporting back to fellow board members on up to the minute data which allows us to make quick financial decisions on all aspects of running of the company. However, he spends much of his time in dialogue with the managers, supporting them on all aspects of daily care, ensuring correct staffing levels, equipment and environment are catered for at all times. Not an easy task. As he says:
"The challenges facing the sector are on the news and social media almost daily and we need to run twice as fast as the pack to ensure that we keep up! Whilst I am the ‘numbers’ person, to understand those numbers you have to get into the heart and soul of the business, otherwise they are meaningless. I don’t feel I can ever relax without having the total involvement I need to feel within every facet of the business."
This approach has served PLH and Chris well.
ANDREW
SHEPHERD
Human Resources & Health and Safety Director
Andrew gained a law degree, and worked extensively for the Crown Prosecution Service in West Yorkshire prior to joining us. Needless to say, with such a high profile role, he gained enormous experience in all aspects of law applied to a myriad of different situations, in a fast moving, pressurised environment. We approached him about a change of career path and I think it is true to say that neither side have regretted it. His deep examination of the legal aspects of running care homes in an ever complex world, where health and safety issues, the Mental Capacity Act and numerous other critical issues are at the fore, have proved vital in delivering the correct decisions. He combines all of this with running our Human Resources team, overseeing the joining and leaving side of the company which is never an easy path to walk down. Andrew comments:
"It was a massive change for me to join this company, but I have never enjoyed my working life so much! At the CPS I witnessed many of the less savoury aspects of life, whereas here, whilst we have trials and tribulations, there are so many wonderful and uplifting stories about both the residents and the staff who deliver such great care to them. I feel very lucky."
So do we!
TheIR Finest Hour
Listen to our own tribute song, dedicated to our esteemed residents and a celebration of that generation wherever they may be. The lyrics were written by our Chairman, Chris Mitchell. The melody was written by local musician, George Hall. The song was sung wonderfully by Ian Donaghy, our former Care Training Director and lead singer of successful York party band, 'Huge'.
Let us know what you think!