Colten Care Strengthens Senior Team With New Director Of Operations
South Coast operator Colten Care has appointed a leading industry professional as its new Director of Operations.
Elaine Farrer has more than 30 years’ care sector experience including various director level roles.
A qualified general and orthopaedic nurse, she has been an operations manager for a dental company, practice manager of a medical centre serving 25,000 patients, and divisional operations director for a national private healthcare provider.
The appointment comes just weeks after Colten Care opened its latest dementia care home, Linden House in Lymington, and as it continues planning for a new home in Chichester due to open in 2016.
Elaine, who also holds a master degree in business administration, said: “I am passionate about what care of the older person should look and feel like. I always want to influence that by consistently delivering high-quality care. For me it is critical that we provide support, care and compassion at all times. I am really excited about joining Colten Care which I know is full of like-minded people who treat residents with kindness, dignity and respect from within a top-quality environment.”
She added: “We can never rest on our laurels. We have to continually develop our teams and reinforce the message that moving into a care home is the beginning of a different chapter and what we do will make the transition as seamless as possible. It’s about providing high-quality care that is empowering.”
With dementia becoming an ever-increasing aspect of care, Elaine said a key priority will be building and maintaining strong links with families, GPs and other community healthcare professionals.
“Communications are vital in the early onset of dementia,” she said. “Those good connections should already be in place as a person moves from diagnosis to day care, respite care and to long-term care.”
Mark Aitchison, Colten Care’s Chief Executive, said: “Elaine’s care sector experience will be invaluable and she is joining at a really exciting time for the business as we continue to strengthen our operations team to make sure we put care first. We are expanding our provision with the opening of Linden House, commencing the build of our Chichester home and planning our next homes.”
Colten Care runs 19 care homes across Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire. Its services include residential, nursing, respite and dementia care. The family-run group is determined to set the highest standards in all aspects of care of the older person.
