Meet the Wood Grange Care Home Team

Our staff are what hold the home together. Each one of these team members are dedicated to providing high quality care and services to those we support, and ensuring that residents enjoy all aspects of life at our home. See below to meet some of our friendly faces:

Katya Petrova

General Manager

It is my privilege to welcome you to Wood Grange Care Home where I have the honour of leading the team and serving residents. Choosing a care home can be a difficult and emotional step, so my team and I are here to support you.

My name is Katya Petrova and I have been working for Barchester for over 20 years now. I have enjoyed progressing through several roles to become a Senior General Manager.

During my time at Barchester I have been fortunate to win Barchester Nurse of The Year 2013, and was the divisional winner in the category of General Manager of the Year 2021. These are my greatest career achievements and proud moments.

There is nothing more important to me than making people happy, which sometimes can mean simple things, like making sure people feel heard and valued and ensuring peace of mind for the families and friends.

Residents are at the heart of everything we do here at Wood Grange, and we think we’re perfectly suited to meet your family’s needs now and in the future.

James Colley

Deputy Manager

HI, my name is James and I am the Deputy Manager here at Wood Grange. I qualified as a nurse in 2016 and joined Barchester in May 2022. I have a passion for nursing and providing the highest levels of care for our residents.

Sherill Manzon

Head of Willoughby Community

Hi, my name is Sherill, and I am the Head of Willoughby Community.

Ronald Vubya

Head of Memory Lane

Ron is the Head of our Memory Lane Community here at Wood Grange. He is a registered mental health nurse and joined Barchester in 2017. He worked on the ML community as a nurse until his promotion in 2018 to Head of Community.

Louise Saunders

Activities Coordinator

Hi, my name is Louise and I am the activities assistant here at Wood Grange. My background is working in the design industry and I have also worked in the care sector, which led me to this position.

I work alongside Gosia to plan and organise daily activities to suit our residents needs, Gosia and I are very passionate about our roles and the residents well-being is always at the forefront of our minds. I feel extremely privileged to be part of our residents' lives and love spending time with them.

I am a mum of two and love to play tennis.

Radovan Smalo

Head Chef

Radovan joined us in September 2019 and has managed to very quickly impress our residents and visitors with his amazing cooking. He has achieved 5 stars from external EHO auditors!

Chris South

Head of Maintenance

Hello, I’m Chris South, Head of Maintenance here at Wood Grange. I have been here since January 2001, prior to this I served 31 years in the Royal Air Force and then as international business development manager for Textron Defence Systems specialising in electronic warfare test and training systems. In my spare time, which isn’t very much I enjoy my Cockers and anything to do with aviation.

Maggie Melvin

Admin Assistant

I have worked at Wood Grange for three and a half years as a care assistant and previously I have held both care and admin roles.

My interests include gardening, baking  and cooking using our home grown ingredients. I enjoy working my young cocker spaniel Tally and love organising just about anything and everyone.

Jacqui Tarrant

Admin Assistant

Jacqui is an Admin Assistant here at Wood Grange and joined the company in 2011. Jacqui has her IT Specialist certificate and has worked in administration for over 30 years. She always has a cheerful smile to meet and greet and is always happy to help in any way she can.