16/02/2026
💙Tina Buchanan has worked at Barclay Gardens for 20 years!
🌸Jo the activity coordinator interviewed Tina about her role within the home.
🏡Tina began by telling me about her role as a senior and what her responsibilities entail.
“My role is to look after the residents and staff team who take care of the residents this a includes, care staff, catering staff, support workers, activity coordinator and maintenance. This is to ensure the smooth running of the home on a day-to-day basis. Some of my role is about carrying out audits, completing doctor and district nurse rounds. It is about actioning these things and then taking time to report and record them so that we can work cohesively as a team”
🎗️I then asked Tina how she leads and supports care staff?
“One of the first tasks of the day is to receive a handover and from this I can make the informed choice about which staff member to put on which unit and with who. This takes into consideration what skills and knowledge each staff member has and how they work together and as part of the larger team. After this I do a walk around the home. This is so I can check how everyone is and ensure that I am available and around to help as required.”
🧑🧒What does good leadership in care mean to you?
“I like to lead by example. I wouldn’t ask any of the staff to carry out a task that I wouldn’t do myself. I also like to think about my approachability and being fair to all staff.”
🛁How do you ensure residents receive consistent, high-quality care?
“Although some of my tasks are office based with reporting and recording, I still like to go around the building and offer support and assistance to the residents and the team. I like that we have trusted staff whom I know I can approach to complete a task and requests and that this will be done. We also have great systems in place for checking things and issuing actions as soon as possible.”
🏋️Can you share a challenging moment and how you supported the team?
“We had a resident who began having some mental health issues. This resident became quite volatile and aggressive. Displaying behaviors towards both staff and residents. Once alerted to the situation I went onto the unit to help with de-escalation and to support both residents and staff and help to residents and help to resolve the situation”
💪🏻What makes this home a strong, supportive workplace?
“Barclay Gardens is residents’ home however, we all respect that it is our workplace. It is supportive because as a company coverage care gives us access to great regular and updated training. We follow procedures such as personal development plans which enable staff to come forward talk to their line manager about issues. On top of this we all have an ‘open door policy’ meaning that staff do not have to wait for these meetings they can gain help and support anytime.”
👏Finally, Tina what makes you proud to be part of this team?
“We have a great team and we work well together. We have a strong office team and strong staff all working together with a varied skill set. We are a good team, and we look after our residents with the care and compassion we would like ourselves and our own family to receive.”
