Care Home Managing Director is Most Pioneering MD of the Year

Sue Gallagher, Managing Director of Barchester’s Hospitals and Complex Care Division, has been named Most Pioneering Managing Director of the Year 2023 in the Independent Care Home category of the Managing Director of the Year Awards.

Organised by SME News magazine, the Managing Director of the Year Awards aim to reward the very best Managing Directors from across the UK, those that are able to forge and sustain key relationships based on trust and confidence, and to drive their business forward with proactive and thoughtful leadership.

Sue’s passion for working in care originally came about by chance as a result of a work experience placement in the local psychiatric hospital. Sue loved the placement so much that she became a volunteer at the psychiatric hospital and never looked back. She applied to the School of Nursing to become a Psychiatric Nurse because she felt she had found a way to make a difference and help people have a more positive life.

In 2012, Sue joined Barchester first as Regional Manager and then as Regional Director. She progressed to Acting Divisional Director before setting up Barchester’s Hospitals and Complex Care Division and became MD of that division in 2022. This is not Sue’s first award by any means, she was named North West Innovator of the Year at the Great British Care Awards in 2010 and Operations Manager of the Year at the National Care Awards in 2014.

Sue says: “I was so shocked when I heard I had won, I had no idea I had even been nominated! I feel very humbled to win, I’m touched that people took the time to nominate me and I’m very thankful indeed. First and foremost, I want to thank my team, they are true heroes who work tirelessly to provide the best care possible. Everyone’s role in our team is equally important – we are all part of a big jigsaw puzzle, we all complement each other to make a whole picture. I am incredibly lucky, to work with great people who all share the same vision and want to provide quality care.”

Barchester Healthcare’s CEO, Dr Pete Calveley, comments: “This award is very well deserved. I have had the pleasure of knowing and working alongside Sue for eight years now. She is exceptionally hard-working and dedicated to her teams, her patients and her residents. She is an incredible leader and I am delighted that her talent has been recognised.”