New Green Champions make a difference at Oakwood Court | Meet the team
Meet the team
We employ around 170 staff across our care homes, housing schemes and support office. With so many diverse roles, we would like to introduce you to some of our team. Just click on the roles below to find out more.
Care Assistant
Care Home Administrator
I support the Care Home Manager with all the administration at the home. This includes for example completing forms for new residents and staff, collating the residents’ activity calendar, paying invoices, helping to manage the budget, completing and submitting payroll and liaising with support services in Seaford.
I’m the first point of contact for everyone who walks through the door so I welcome friends and families of residents, doctors, nurses, tradesmen and I take care of all the telephone calls. Some of my colleagues say “I’m the glue that holds the home together!”
This is a very busy role and I have the freedom to complete my work, be with the residents and interact with staff. We’re a good team here.
Jessica at Oakwood Court care home, Haywards Heath.
Maintenance
I take care of the day to day maintenance of the building making sure all the checks have been done, including fire and gas safety and electrical testing. My role also includes tasks such as unblocking shower wells, checking light bulbs and cleaning the bins. There is generally a lot of cleaning involved and ensuring everything is in working order. I also decorate rooms when they become vacant.
I enjoy spending time talking to residents when I’m working in their rooms and supporting the care team. I may have my week planned out but sometimes my work can be very reactive, you never really know what you’re going to walk into in the morning, this is why I love working here.
I have enjoy the opportunity to do activities with residents such as gardening, indoor play and dancing. Outside of work, DIY is my main hobby.
Allan Manalo at Oakwood Court care home, Haywards Heath.
Scheme Manager
I love working with older people and hearing their life’s experiences. I enjoy enriching their golden years - making them easier and more pleasurable.
I've worked in a variety of care settings for many years. Care in the Community with profoundly physically disabled people and some with brain acquired injuries, before I started at Sussex Housing & Care.
Since working here I have been a manager at Saxonwood Care Home and then moved to become a Scheme Manager.
I enjoy providing a high standard of service to residents."
Fiona, Scheme Manager for Ashleigh Glegg House and Falfield in Seaford.
New Green Champions make a difference at Oakwood Court
Being environmentally friendly and more sustainable is important to Sussex Housing & Care and we’re delighted to welcome staff to our new Green Champion role.
Together, Charlie, General Assistant, and Juliet, Care Assistant are leading the way to make our home more sustainable and reduce our carbon footprint. They are advocating ‘all things green’ at Oakwood Court care home in Haywards Heath, and are making a positive impact.
Charlie is enjoying the new responsibilities and shared the initiatives they’ve already started: “I’ve begun growing a selection of herbs for the kitchen to use and we have a new compost bin for our peelings and some food waste. A water butt has been installed to help water the plants and we’re using eggshells as a slug repellent in the flowerpots.
“Across the home we’re proactively turning off lights and reducing the heating in areas which aren’t used, to help save both electricity and money. We are also encouraging car sharing and have a new easy to access recycling bin for our cardboard, paper and newspapers.”
Juliet enjoys gardening and said: “I’ve been growing lettuces, cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes at home from seed and will bring these in for the residents to tend to and eat.”
Charlie reflected on her Green Champion role and said: “I put my name forward to do this and I’m loving the impact we’ve already made. We’ve still a long way to go but I feel good about making a difference and it’s also added variety to my role. If we all did our bit, we’d make a massive impact. I’m helping people to make sustainability second nature!”
Charlie and Juliet will regularly update staff and residents about their progress and encourage new ideas and initiatives. Their actions are linked to Sussex Housing & Care’s Sustainability Strategy which captures our vision to become a more sustainable organisation reducing our impact on the climate, meeting our statutory duties and customer expectations. Sustainability Strategy 2022 - 2027.pdf [pdf] 1MB