HAVING worked her way up from housekeeper to manager, Lisa Duffy knows a thing or two about care homes.

She’s even recently taken to jumping out of planes to help fundraise for a new bus which would be ‘transformative’ for the Stirlings care home where she works.

But before she first joined the sector 12 years ago, she admits to thinking they were ‘slightly scary’ places.

She said she can understand the preconception among many that they are places that should be avoided, but part of her mission at the Stirlings in Wantage is to open it up so all of the local community feel welcome.

“Everyone hears the stories – but you always hear the bad side of things.

“Before I came to work here, I thought they were scary places as well so you can understand it.

“You are dealing with people who have serious conditions like dementia and that can be frightening if you are not used to it.

“People think if someone is in a care home they are not going to go and see them, they are seen as not the sort of places you want to go.

“That’s why it is so important to me that people are always happy to come in and made to feel welcome.

“We don’t have set visitor hours, people can come in whenever they want.”

It’s a strategy that appears to be working beyond all expectations: the Garston Lane home, run by the Orders of St John Care Trust, recently achieved one of the best scores in the country in the Your Care Survey.

The best thing about the results – which included being given a perfect rating for staff and care and for allowing residents to ‘have their say’ – was that it was based on a comprehensive survey of the home’s own residents, Mrs Duffy said.

The independent survey, conducted by pollster Ipsos MORI, gives residents an opportunity to express their views about a range of issues.

Each is given their own questionnaire to complete in their own time and do not have to identify themselves in their responses.

Overall Stirlings was given a score of 995 out of 1,000 – far higher than the average score of 878.

Mrs Duffy said: “The most important thing that came across is that the residents want respect and to have their dignity protected.

“To get the scores we got, I was absolutely amazed.

“I have a close relationship with all my residents and my team and I like to think I know what is happening at the home most of the time.

“I often know about things before they have been brought to my attention, and I knew people were generally pleased with life in general, but not in my wildest dreams did I expect we would get two perfect scores.

“It’s great recognition for how hard the staff work to make this a good place to live.”

Having been a bookmaker, factory worker and trained to be a horse riding school instructor, Mrs Duffy started working at the Meadows care home in Didcot with no experience in 2006.

She worked her way up through various roles across homes in the area before eventually becoming home manager at Stirlings in 2016.

Having inside experience of working within so many parts of a successful care home has proved invaluable.

She said: “I can understand some of the difficulties my staff may be facing because I have been through them myself on many occasions.

“I’ve seen all sides of the story and I think that helps a lot.”

She was attracted to the profession as a way of ‘making a difference’, and it has allowed her life to come full circle in that she is now caring for people who used to look after her as a child.

She said: “I am a Didcot girl, I have been a part of this community all my life and have got so much out of it.

“You want to help give something back and it does feel like you are achieving that.

“I have cared for the husband of the headteacher I had when I was at school and the woman who used to run the local sweet shop.

“You are helping the people who have done so much to help others.”

The key to her success has been making sure everyone feels like they can talk to her and be open about any issues they are facing.

She said: “Everybody at the home - whether its a staff member or resident – knows they can come to me with anything.

“I always like to help when I can.

“They need to know they can trust the people who are looking after them.

“We have regular meetings with our residents and let them set the agenda.

“Anything they want to do, we try and make it possible.

“We have one couple who like to go to the pub for lunch so we make sure they can do that once a week.

“The residents’ needs are key to everything that happens at this home.”

Also important to Mrs Duffy is ensuring her residents never feel isolated and are not cut off from the area in which they live.

She said: “Often people lose their links with the community when they come into a home but it shouldn’t be like that.

“You do not see the same friends you used to - there’s a feeling you are stuck inside.

“It is important for us to help people feel they have a role to play in society.

“We visit schools, run book clubs - anything to ensure the residents’ quality of life is kept at a high standard.”