Southlands Residential Care Home

At the helm is State Registered Nurse, Carol Dyke, who has been a nurse for more than three decades. She’s been at Southlands for 21 years and is well-beloved by her team, our residents, and Carol oversees five senior carers, our team of carers, cooks, housekeepers and an activities coordinator. Many hold NVQ Level 2 and 3 qualifications, and all have undertaken the specialist Care Certificate.

We know how valuable good staff are so we work hard to retain our best and most dedicated people by treating them fairly, recognising and rewarding great work, helping them continue their professional education and providing them with a career path they can be proud of and stimulated by.

In addition, we employ handymen and gardeners as well as other professionals to keep the home safe and running smoothly for you.

My wife Chris and I have extensive experience in social care provision. I qualified as a social worker in 1991 and over the course of thirty years, I have variously managed a London Borough’s homes for the elderly, been an inspector of care homes, operated homes for people with learning difficulties and provided houses and support for people in crisis or with complex needs.

In 2002 I helped establish a cancer support centre which I still oversee as a trustee.

My wife Chris is a qualified Human Resources Manager and supports me and our children whilst also volunteering for a specialist charity.

I am actively involved in the management of Southlands, and know all of our residents and their families personally.

Following a family move and career change, Amber began working as a Care Assistant. Her breadth of experience in the care sector and administrative background means Amber has quickly become a valued member of the Southlands team.

As Administrator and Liaison Officer, Amber is responsible for the day-to-day administrative functioning of the home, supporting Andrew (Proprietor) and Carol (Home Manager) in their roles. This involves a variety of tasks such as employment checks, inquiry handling, show rounds and admissions, to reassuring residents and relatives and dealing with their day-to-day requests.

Amber has a keen interest in outdoor sports such as kayaking and cycling and loves nothing more than a swim in the sea after a long days work.

Jessica joined the team in march 2021, he infectious laugh and outbound personality make her a pleasure to be around.Jessica uses care plans and consider residents’ histories and hobbies to plan respectful activities that enhance lives, encourage socialisation and stimulate memories. This is an important part of our person-centered care.

Activities that are multi-sensory are proven to help by increasing concentration and communication, helping cognitive symptoms and social interactions while stimulating reminiscent therapy. Southlands achieves this in a number of ways, some of which are cooking workshops, ‘Guess the scent’ games, culture days, along with arts and crafts.

Our dedicated and experienced senior team is responsible for managing the clinical care of our residents at Southlands focusing on their holistic care, which includes their mental, physical and emotional wellbeing.

This involves administering medication, working with our home GP and supporting carers to ensure residents receive person-centered care in accordance with their needs, wishes and asperations.

As with all our staff Margaret cares deeply about each and every resident and enjoy sharing the ups and downs of life sharing compassion, laughter and is a keen listerner.

James is our Handyman who works very hard fixing things and making sure our home runs smoothly. This involves ensuring that any maintenance/repair works are carried out promptly and efficiently with minimum disturbance. Having started at Southlands over 10 years ago, James is always willing to turn his hand to anything, even volunteered to be our barman at a Christmas party, making cocktails for the residents, all in all, a hard working and valuable team player.

To provide the exemplary care our residents deserve, we intentionally hire more staff than the industry average. Having more staff means we can offer a more relaxed, stress-free environment for our residents, where the staff have time to deliver person-centred care. Our care team are passionate about their jobs and the care team have completed additional specialised training in supporting those living here at Southlands.

We generally work on ratios of around 1:4 care staff per resident by day and 1:8 by night. However, these ratios do not include the home’s domestic, catering, laundry, activities and management staff.

Paul is one of our talented Cooks at Southlands who ensures residents enjoy a varied menu focusing on the nutritional needs of our residents. Paul has over 10 years of experience working as Cook in the care sector.

Having joined the Southlands team in 2016, Paul quickly made an impression on residents, relatives and staff. The food he cooks is appetizing, nutritional and commended by all. He also regularly goes above and beyond for resident’s special occasions, baking beautiful Birthday cakes and providing the little extras that he was well known for when working in well-known Devon eating establishments.