Hayley Taylor is the Deputy Manager at Millbrook Lodge, an 80 room home in Brockworth near Gloucester. Hayley worked as a Carer and Care Leader before becoming the Deputy Manager at Millbrook Lodge in 2017. Within the management team at Millbrook, Hayley’s skills complement those of Becky, the home’s Senior Nurse and clinical lead, and Robin, Home Manager, who is a registered mental health nurse.

Hayley is responsible for the smooth running of the care team at Millbrook, which comprises around 80 care staff. She starts most days checking that staff shifts are covered and organising cover if anyone is unwell. Hayley then walks around the home to speak to residents before taking on tasks for that day. Each day is different and can involve home or Trust-wide meetings, care plan audits, time with relatives of residents, assessments for new residents, and many other unexpected things which can crop up.

“It’s a role where flexibility helps,” said Hayley. “It’s a very busy home, so I’m often meeting new residents, helping them to settle in and getting to know their characters and their needs. We also have 20 beds in our Hospital Discharge Support Unit (HDSU), where people stay for up to four weeks after a hospital stay. During this time, they are assessed, and long-term plans are made for them by social workers. People staying in the HDSU have many different needs, such as nursing and dementia, or limited mobility.

“It’s important that we have a varied workforce with different expertise to draw on. I’m keen that all my team members are adaptable and open minded.

“The team at Millbrook Lodge is very good. Hearing the staff enjoying some banter with residents and laughter across the home is very rewarding.

“We take our jobs very seriously but hearing laughter makes it feel like the family home we all want it to be.”

“At Millbrook Lodge we encourage our residents to get out of their rooms and make new friends. They can sit in the garden, spend time in our lounges or take part in our activities programme. It’s miles away from how care homes used to be 40-50 years ago, but sometimes I think people still have those misconceptions.”

Hayley didn’t set out to work in care. At 18 she took on a job in a local care home without much thought for the future and she is still loving her career 20 years later. Hayley recalled a favourite story from the many wonderful residents she has met. She was helping a new resident to tidy some books in his room, when a photo of the gentleman fell out of a book. She explained: “It turned out to be a photograph of the resident as a younger man doing naked star jumps. The photograph had been used by his wife as a bookmark, we had a giggle when we saw it. It makes me chuckle to this day!”