Burleys Wood

Emma became part of team Burleys when the doors first opened in 2008. She began by working as a night support worker, this fitted well around family life, over the years progressing to Team Leader and then in 2019 Emma was promoted to her current role of Deputy Manager.

Emma has worked in the care sector since leaving College at 17, working for 2 years in a privately-run nursing home in Reigate. Emma then worked for the London Borough of Sutton for 11 years in a specialist dementia home, only leaving when relocating with her young family to Crawley. Originally working for a domiciliary care company, providing support to service users in their own homes.

Emma really enjoys being able to make a difference every single day, supporting residents and staff. It is lovely to see the care staff support the residents with their independence and encouragement, always promoting new skills. Emma loves coming to work, she feels privileged to work in a place that is happy to be in, where the residents receive a high standard of care from an amazing staff team.

In total, Emma has worked for 26 years in the care sector but, has never worked throughout a health Pandemic until 2020 Emma commented: “I am very proud of the team who work here at Burleys Wood. Throughout the Pandemic, we have continued to provide high-quality care to our residents.

During very anxious times, we have pulled together and made sure the residents were always well looked after. We found some new ways of working and new ways of supporting each other - residents, relatives, staff and health professionals.” Read less

Having trained as a nurse 15 years ago, Corah joined the team at Burleys Wood in July 2019. She remembered, I chose nursing as my career because I love to care for those who cannot care for themselves, that’s my passion. Corah’s passion for care, meaning she very quickly fitted into the team at Burleys Wood.

When on shift, Corah manages the nursing floor making sure residents are safe and well cared for. Corah leads a team well and she also spends time each week speaking with local health professionals. Corah speaks with families to show support on a regular basis keeping them in the loop on their loved ones needs. Seeing a smile on a residents face makes everything worthwhile that’s when you know you are doing your job right.

The recent pandemic has taught Corah how important family is. Family is not just your immediate family but, the people you spend time with every day and the people you care for. When the residents’ families were missing physically, there were always phone calls, video calls, post cards, letters etc.

These simple but, physical interactions on a daily basis really helped residents feel less stressful during that time, they enjoy that. This is a good coping management during the pandemic and I am glad that I was a part of that. That too is a part of fulfilling my role. Anxiety can rise, however we pull through as a team. Read less