The best of both worlds

As a Registered Nurse and Deputy Home Director, Alun Woodhouse says he has the best of both worlds at Brockington House.

It means he gets to experience the home from every angle – with his clinical and non-clinical hat on.

And having also previously worked in a private hospital where no expense was spared when it came to providing the highest quality care, he knows exactly what good care looks like!

Before joining Brockington in 2019, Alun spent 22 years working as a nurse in Saudi Arabia, 15 of these years spent as Programme Director overseeing a 600-bed hospital.

Alun explains: “I qualified as a Nurse in 1990 and after working in the NHS for seven years I decided to try something different and went to work in Saudi Arabia.

“It was a real culture shock, and I was ready to quit after less than two weeks but I persevered and ended up staying for over 20 years.

“When I came back to the UK, I initially thought I would go back to the NHS, but I soon saw that nothing much had changed in the period whilst I was away, so having worked with the elderly for much of my career, I decided to go into social care instead and this led me to Brockington House.

“Initially I was here as a bank Nurse and I enjoyed getting back to basics and a few months later I was offered a permanent role and because of my experience, a few months after this I also took on the role of Deputy Home Director, which gives me the best of both worlds.”

Alun says there are comparisons between the hospital in Saudi Arabia and Brockington House.

He explains: “It was one of most high-profile hospitals in the Middle East with the best equipment, the best staff and patients all getting their own rooms and the highest standards of care.

“I quickly saw that here at Brockington too. We have great staff who are all committed to safety, quality, and person-centred care.

“I see how good the carers are with the ladies and gentlemen, and how everyone just gets on with their jobs and work as a team.”

Outside of work, Alun enjoys reading, tennis and spending time with his dog, a miniature Daschund called Willow.