Meet the Westergate House Care Home Team

My name is Nikki and I am the Deputy Manager here at Westergate House.

I joined the home in 2022 as Clinical Lead and enjoyed supporting the nursing and care team.  I work closely with the General Manager, with whom I have forged a strong and positive working relationship, where complete focus on the residents and staff team, providing a safe and caring environment is a shared priority.  As a result, I was thrilled to accept the opportunity to become Deputy Manager at Westergate House and work alongside the General Manager to ensure the home goes from strength to strength in delivering person-centred care, an enjoyable lived experience and dedicated happy team.

My work history to date includes a career change in 2002 when I decided to join the NHS as a carer.  I then commenced my nurse training in 2006 and qualified as a Registered General Nurse 2009. I now have 15 years of experience, from working in an acute setting as a Ward Sister before deciding to work in the private sector in 2020.

I am very dedicated and passionate individual, ensuring person-centred care is delivered to the highest of standards for all our residents, I am committed with my team and Westergate to making a difference for the residents who make Westergate their home.

I thoroughly enjoy my role and work with a great supportive and knowledgeable team, no two days are ever the same. There is always plenty happening which makes my role varied and exciting not only for the residents; but the staff team too.

My name is Bernice and I am the Head of Memory Lane communities here at Westergate House

I have been at Westergate House for over 20 years and a Registered Mental Nurse for over 35 years. I lead the Memory Lane communities and Dementia Champions, sharing my knowledge and experience with them; enriching the lives of people living with dementia. Enhancing the well-being of the residents and to make every day enjoyable. We strongly believe people living with dementia should enjoy a fulfilled and happy life, with specialist support to continue doing the things they love.

Westergate House is my home and I could never imagine working anywhere else. I have always wanted to be a nurse and to make a difference, to be part of residents' lives to make them feel safe, happy and secure.

My name is Mel and I am the Head of Nights & Clinical Lead here at Westergate House.

I am delighted to be working at the home and using my work experience to date leading the clinical and care team in delivering high standards of effective and compassionate care. I have been a qualified nurse for forty years and have enjoyed an incredible career.  My training was completed at Kingston & Richmond Hospital where I stayed for a year after qualifying before working for a number of agencies where I gained a wealth of clinical experience.

In 2000 I joined the Sussex Community Foundation Trust as a Clinical Lead and enjoyed working with patients in the community for twenty years. More recently, I have worked as a Registered Manager for a local nursing home which gave me valuable insight into caring for residents with a range of complex and individual needs as well as their GP and multi-disciplinary team to ensure the best possible care.

I am thrilled to have the opportunity to put these skills to use in my role at Westergate House and look forward to working closely with our residents, their families and the exceptional staff team.

My name is Marc and I am part of the nursing team here at Westergate House.

I qualified as a Registered Nurse in 2011 and began my career working for Barchester Healthcare.  I spent the first two years working at Llys Y Tywysog Care Home in Wales and then transferred to Westergate House eight years ago.

I am thoroughly enjoying my role here in West Sussex and love caring for our residents.  No two days are the same and there is always something fun going on.  I enjoy taking part in the home’s activities and appeared in last year’s panto.  I am also a keen member of the Westergate House quiz team!

My name is Cheryl and I am a Team Leader and the Speak Up Champion, here at Westergate House.

I have worked at Westergate House for over a decade now and pride myself on offering the best care possible. I endeavour to ensure those I look after continue to live their best life. It is really important to me that residents feel safe and happy within their homes and I felt the Speak Up role is perfect for me; it helps to ensure this happens.

Our priority at Westergate House is our resident's safety and quality of care. All our staff are encouraged to SPEAK UP internally where there are any concerns in the workplace and there are a variety of ways that we can do this. We have recently expanded this to allow an internal point of contact within Westergate as an alternative safe person to speak to. As part of my role, I maintain confidentiality and integrity. I am impartial, approachable, inclusive and empathetic. All the skills required to support the home with this new role. This makes it easy for everyone to speak up. This ensures continuity of excellent care to our residents and a positive work environment.

My name is Laura and I am the Home Administrator here at Westergate House.

I worked for this amazing home for nine years before leaving tor eighteen months and working for West Sussex County Council as an Assistant Manager for a residential home for adults with learning disabilities.  It is great to be back at Westergate House, in a different role using my extensive transferable skills and I am delighted to work with such a fabulous team who are focused on providing a positive experience for our residents.  Westergate House is a home-from-home for the people who live here, and for staff members who contribute to the family atmosphere. 

My work experience to date is varied, and I have had the privilege of working with people living with dementia, and people with learning disabilities.  These have been senior care roles as well as teaching students at Chichester College about different elements of safe care delivery to gain qualifications in Health & Social Care. 

I am delighted to be working with the staff team, the residents, and their families, at Westergate House, and supporting with anything that comes under the umbrella of administration.

My name is Lee and I am the Head of Lifestyle here at Westergate House.

I support our residents daily to do the things they enjoy and it is extremely important to me that we are offering a premium and person centred service to each resident. I support our residents on a daily basis by providing meaningful and quality activities either in groups or on a 1:1 basis, to help encourage and build confidence while creating an enjoyable environment for everyone. Westergate House is the home of our residents, we as staff are working in it, so it is extremely important to me that we are respectful of that, while offering a premium and person centred service to each and every resident. 

I am a trained actor and professional vocalist and not shy in making a fool of myself. If I do that every day to put a smile on our residents faces then I’m happy I have played my part, along with the rest of the amazing team, to brightening their day. If you hear someone singing along the corridor or see them dancing in the lounges, it will probably be me.

My name is Chris, and I am the Head Chef here at Westergate House.

I qualified as a chef in 1992 and served in the Royal Navy for 24 years, both in service and as a head chef. After leaving the Navy, I had an amazing experience of being able to take part in ‘MasterChef: The Professionals’ and reached the quarter-finals. I have also cooked for several members of the Royal Family, including the Queen, Prince Philip on his 90th birthday and the Countess of Wessex.

As Chef here at Westergate House, I appreciate the value of mealtimes and how much they are looked forward to as a very important part of the day.  I am focused on providing delicious meals that ensure complete nutrition, making good use of seasonal fruit and vegetables. Together with our exceptional kitchen team, I provide a varied menu, ensuring I listen to the residents’ choices and preferences.  We love an event day, of which there are plenty of celebrations at Westergate House, and I am only too happy to cater for open days, community days, birthdays and anything else that is special.  Quite often we explore different themes and enjoy preparing dishes from around the globe; different flavours and ideas which add to the spice of life.  If residents and their families or friends fancy dining together, it is a pleasure to prepare for a party, lunch or celebration tea, and visitors to the home are very welcome to help themselves to tea, coffee and cake anytime.

Last year, I was thrilled to be nominated and enroled in Barchester's renowned Chef Academy, and enjoyed the tutelage of Hospitality Development and Standards Manager, Mervyn Knights, enhancing my knowledge of cooking for residents living with dementia.

Working at Westergate House is a privilege; I am proud to be part of such a fabulous team.

My name is Roger and I am the Senior Head of Maintenance here at Westergate House.

I spent 24 years working for the Army and feel confident in my unfazed approach to sorting and fixing!  An interesting fact, having travelled the world, I am the proud owner of memorabilia from 53 Hard Rock Cafes.  While I oversee all things maintenance, part of the pleasure my role brings, is conversing with our residents and sharing stories of travel and careers.

Looking after beautiful Grade II listed building, part of which is over 200 years old, means no two days are the same.

My name is Rivka and I am the Head of Housekeeping here at Westergate House

I am really passionate about my position and take pride in keeping the home clean and well looked after. long with my team, we ensure every day that we are giving our residents a lovely environment to live in.

Working as Head housekeeper here at Westergate is a very fulfilling role. Not only am I blessed with a fantastic housekeeping team but I get to spend close time with the residents. Getting to know the family and friends and hearing interesting stories about the lives of the residents only brings us all closer, providing a sense of trust throughout the home. Thanks to our wonderful team who care, support and motivate one another, I can honestly say I love my job!

My name is Emily and I am a Senior Care Assistant and also the Wellbeing Champion, here at Westergate House.

I have worked in the care industry for over 3 years now, all of which have been at Westergate House, previous to this I worked in childcare. I find myself to be a naturally caring person and thrive to help others in any way I can. This also resonates in being there for people, whether that be an ear to listen, a shoulder to cry on, or a hand in the right direction. That is why the Wellbeing Champion role is perfect for me. I am an approachable and positive person and proud of the difference I make supporting my colleagues and promoting wellbeing at Westergate House.

Barchester Healthcare focus on the wellbeing of our team and as part of my role I support my colleagues to access health and wellbeing opportunities as well as promoting activities within the workplace. I raise awareness of our Wellbeing Policy and promote healthy lifestyles and positive mental health. I am extremely enthusiastic about supporting wellbeing within Westergate House.

My name is Rachael and I am a Senior care assistant and one of the Dementia Champions at Westergate House.

I have worked at Westergate House for over 3 years. Previously I was a stay at home mum with two lovely daughters. During my working career I spent a decade working for the Police as a Safer Neighbourhood Officer. It was at this time I realised I had a commitment to making a difference. In my capacity as a Senior Carer. I pride myself in being approachable, friendly and supportive whilst providing the very best care for the people I look after.

It’s natural to want the very best support for your loved one. And we wouldn’t accept anything less. Caring for those living with dementia requires special aptitudes and skills, as well as a caring and inclusive view on life. As one of the Dementia Champions, I promote Identity, Connections, Security, Autonomy, Meaning, Growth and Joy. We have a good understanding of each resident living in our communities, including their interests, having meaningful conversation, their previous occupations, important people and places to them and their personality traits. We create stimulating environments through meaningful engagement and activities. We see their time with us as the next chapter in their life, and we promote independence where possible; with meaningful occupation each day in our Memory Lane communities.

My name is Konnie and I am the Second Chef here at Westergate House.

I came to the UK from Thailand in 2006 and studied catering at a local college in order to train to be a chef. Prior to joining the team at Westergate in 2015, I worked in a variety of restaurants and cafes.

The thing I love about working for Barchester is that the food service we provide really makes a difference to the residents' lives – we strive to ensure that they enjoy every part of their dining experience! I also enjoy using my experience in Asian cuisine to inspire different flavours and dishes, which are well received!