Each month, we meet someone working in the care sector. This month, we caught up with Lorraine Lock, home manager at Moorhaven care home in Taunton, run by Somerset Care.

Q – What are your main duties/responsibilities in your role?

A – My role as a manager is to lead, direct and supervise the staff team at Moorhaven, providing a network of services which can respond flexibly to the needs of individuals. Most importantly, my role is to maintain strong bonds with the residents and their families.

Q – What made you want to work in the care sector?

A – I was always interested in nursing and caring for people. It gives me great satisfaction to know that I have contributed to caring for people who need support in their daily living, and also to enable them to be as independent as possible to live their lives they way they wish.

Q – What do you enjoy most about it?

A – I look forward to seeing the residents daily and having conversations with them, they have plenty of tales to tell about their lives, which are so fascinating and enjoyable to hear. We often reminisce with photos of times gone by and I love to see how fashion has changed over the years. Throughout the day I love to see the residents enjoy a range of activities, including music, games and crafts. We regularly have outside entertainment coming in such as a donkey, from the donkey sanctuary, which they very much enjoy and find it comical to see the handlers walking around with a bucket behind, just in case! Most of all, I just enjoy being there for all my residents and helping them to lead an independent and happy life in a safe environment.

Q – What would you change or improve about it?

A – I would like everyone to continue to build and maintain the strong relationships with stakeholders, staff, families and other professionals, ensuring that we all work together in providing person-centred care.

Q – Tell us about a memorable experience from your career?

A – I have lots of memorable experiences of celebrations and events but there is one that will always be ingrained in my memory and that is when I was supporting a gentleman with dementia who found it difficult to express himself verbally. One day, I saw him singing along with the other residents during a ‘music for health’ session. He was singing all of the words so loudly and clearly with a look of delight and pride on his face – this brought tears of joy to me.