Caring home takes Gold award
A Northumberland care and nursing home is the first business of
its type in the region to receive the prestigious Investors in
People Gold award, putting it amongst the top 1% of businesses
nationally.
Wentworth Grange Nursing Home, in a beautiful rural setting at
Riding Mill, cares for more than 50 residents aged from 60 to 104.
Hampton House is a separate 16-bed facility for those who are
mentally infirm, including patients with dementia.
Opened in November 1980 by the Lee family, Wentworth Grange is
now run by Jeff Lee and his mother Phyllis with 52 full and
part-time staff, many of whom have worked at the Home for
years.
"We are just delighted to have this Gold award," said Jeff Lee.
"We see it as recognition of our commitment to our staff and it
also demonstrates to residents and their families that we have a
strong and close team working here. Investors in People is
challenging but the results are so worthwhile and it was such a
morale boost when we heard about the award."
Rob Macleod, Managing Director of Investors in People North East
said: "Wentworth Grange has joined an elite band as only a handful
of organisations in the region and less than 1% of all Investors in
People organisations in the UK achieve the Gold award. It is
recognition of the Home's commitment to continuous improvement
across all areas of its business."
The Lee family credit their staff with Wentworth Grange's
recovery from a major crisis three years ago when a flash flood
engulfed Hampton House, only just completed after a major
investment.
"We were wading up to our knees in water but the staff were just
brilliant," says Jeff Lee. "The patients were moved into the other
house and staff stayed with them to minimise the effects of the
disruption. We had to completely re-design to avoid any further
flooding problems and start all over again. It was a very difficult
time and without our great team we just couldn't have done it."
Wentworth Grange prides itself on providing individual training
programmes for everyone from laundry, catering and nursing staff to
finance and administration. Everyone works a rota to ensure their
job is varied, covering different areas so that they get to know
all the residents and learn about other roles within the Home.
"Investors in People is an important part of the jigsaw of
running a business for us," says Jeff Lee, "as it is vital that we
maintain our high standards. It helps us to attract and retain good
staff which gives us peace of mind."
Wentworth Grange is also rated in the top 18% of care homes in
England with a 3-star rating from the Care Quality Commission.