Armstrong House, Gateshead, Tyne & Wear

We offer residential, nursing, respite, dementia care and end of life care. We are known as a ‘home for life’. When a resident’s needs change, we are here to support them throughout with a tailored care plan. All our care is person-centred, meaning the resident is at the centre of all aspects of their care.

Types of care offered at Armstrong House

• Residential care
• Dementia care
• Nursing care
• Nursing dementia care
• Respite care
• End of life care

Our Home Manager, Margaret Frater, is supported by a leadership team, comprising leads in care, maintenance, housekeeping, catering and lifestyle coordination.

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Careers at Armstrong House

Nurses

The Registered General Nurses (RGNs) employed at Armstrong House by Care UK are highly skilled and receive sector-leading training, which enables them to keep developing expertise in different clinical fields from dementia to palliative care.

At Armstrong House, we also have jobs for mental health nurses (RMNs), who support residents with more complex needs or greater dependency levels. Because we offer nursing dementia care, your mental health nurse expertise will be valuable for residents requiring an understanding of dementia and mental health.

Nurses working at Care UK care homes provide clinical nursing to residents including medication management, infection prevention and control, including wound care and catheter management. They also develop tailored care plans for individualised care of residents. We use Waterlow and MUST clinical assessment tools to support our work.

We also offer opportunities for newly qualified nurses.

Care Assistants

Our hardworking care assistants always keep individuals and their families at the heart of the care they provide. They work with the families to shape the care that each resident receives, from the food they’re served to the activities and experiences they want to do – even the ways they prefer to keep in touch with their friends and family.

Clinical Leads

Clinical leads oversee the nursing team and are responsible for delivering the individual care plans. They deputise for the management team and work with local GPs and other healthcare professionals to maintain the best quality of care for residents.

Team Leaders

With a proven ability to lead and supervise others, team leaders work alongside care assistants to support residents with their daily needs. Ideally with an NVQ level 3 in health and social care, or with a desire to achieve this, team leaders will carry out risk assessments, administer and record medication requirements and lead the care assistants on a day to day basis.

Lifestyle Teams
Our dedicated lifestyles teams work hard to organise a range of activities and events at our home. From gardening and baking to quizzes, music sessions and even live entertainment. Above all, we get to know each resident to make sure our activities are tailored to suit their interests and hobbies.

Armstrong House Home Manager, Margaret Frater

"I qualified as a nurse in 1988 and have worked in care homes ever since. I joined Care UK after hearing a lot of good things about the organisation. When I read up more about them, I was impressed that we shared the same values.

"Before becoming Home Manager in 2022, I was the Deputy Manager at Armstrong House. I believe the most important part of my role is to make a positive difference to the residents and team members at Armstrong House."

As Home Manager, you need to be caring, passionate and understanding. It’s also important to be firm but fair. Spending time with the residents is my favourite part of my working day. I love the feeling of going home at night knowing I have done my best. Seeing the progression of new colleagues makes me proud of our amazing team at Armstrong House and the work we do to enable residents to life fulfilling lives.

"Outside of work, I have two german shepherds who are my world. I also enjoy travelling to new places and spending time with my family.”

Career Development at Armstrong House

At Armstrong House, we want all of our colleagues to have a long and successful career with us. Our vision is to provide an inclusive training culture that empowers all colleagues to develop a fulfilling career. From induction to training workshops and apprenticeships, we actively support colleagues to learn new skills and progress their careers.Here are just some of the ways we help our team members to develop more fulfilling careers:

• A friendly induction
• Bespoke learning and development programmes
• Continuous Professional Development
• Role specific skills training workshops
• Apprenticeships
• Colleague Voice
• Care UK Buddy
• Colleague Voice Champion
• Dementia Champion
• Moving and Positioning Trainer
• Emergency First Aider
• Fire Warden
• Future Leaders Programme
• Mental Health First Aiders

Internal progression is very possible at Care UK. In fact, our ‘no experience necessary’ approach, means that the right person with the right values can start at Care UK and work their way up in a department that suits them. We offer different contracts to fit individual needs; whether you are looking for a full time position or want to pick up additional shifts on the Bank.

For example, our Colleague’s Voices Champions’ purpose is to bring together those who want to make a real difference to Care UK allowing them to be given a platform to share ideas and give feedback from their teams on key initiatives. Here is what one of them has to say about their time at Care UK:

“As Colleague Voice, I have attended a conference last year in Gatwick which 1 was pushed outside my comfort zone (as I was solo travelling which is generally a fear of mine!) and 2 I have really helped my fellow colleagues with raising feedback and way to better support the home. I thoroughly enjoy this role!“

Kallum Chamberlain - Colleague Voice’s Champion

Whether you are starting as a Domestic, Care Assistant or Home Manager, at Care UK we support you in your career progression. We have a dedicated learning and development team as well as an abundance of E-learning to support you through your career. During your induction period you will have access to various online learning support services, as well as 121 “Buddy” mentorships within the home and regular catch ups with your Home Manager. If starting as a nurse, we offer clinical skills and nursing leadership workshops to grow your confidence as well as access to resources such as Clinicalskills and Mycare.

For overseas nurses in the UK we have a ‘Pin Project’ to support you through your exams to receive your UK NMC PIN.

Once you are settled into your nursing job we have a variety of learning and training opportunities to enhance your career including RCN accredited nurse practice supervisor, becoming a preceptor, coaching for care and nursing colleagues and opportunities to reflect on practice and take part in clinical supervisions.

There are opportunities to become the lead in your area of expertise including Dementia, Mental Health, as well as more practical areas including falls and infection prevention and control.For further progression in your career we have both a ‘Future Deputy Manager’ and ‘Future Home Manager’ programme to support you on your Care UK journey in which you will have access to leadership workshops and core skills modules.

Roxana-Andreea Brinzoi

Deputy Manager

“I’m a Registered General Nurse, and I've achieved my Level 5 qualification in health and social care. I decided to join Care UK after being made redundant in my previous role, and working at Armstrong House has been my biggest career highlight to date. As Deputy Manager, you need to be empathetic and caring. You also must be able to lead and manage a team, delegate tasks, work under pressure and manage time well. The most important parts of my role are prioritising tasks and supporting and guiding our team. When I’m able to help residents and support my team, I feel proud of what I do. If I’m not at work, I’m often spending time with my family.”

Nikki Boyle

Business Administrator

“I attended college for three years studying business and finance and have over 20 years of admin experience. After my daughter left school, I decided I wanted a change in career. I had known of Armstrong House for a long time, and joining the team has been the biggest highlight of my career so far. I’m proud that I’m able to help people in this role. My job is to make sure all the administrative work in the home is up to date and correct. You need to have strong organisational skills, a good memory and a genuine interest in the care sector in this role. No two days are ever the same at Armstrong House, and I love every part of my working day. I enjoy helping people, speaking to people and going home knowing I have done all I can for the residents. ”

Kerry Douglas

Head Housekeeper

“I have worked at Armstrong House for almost 17 years, and working my way up from Domestic to Head Housekeeper has been the biggest highlight of my career. In this role, it’s important to be friendly, happy and willing to take on board new ideas. You also need to be able to work well in a team and listen to others. I enjoy coming in to work each day and chatting with the residents. It’s my favourite part of my day, as I like being able to help residents and love making them happy. It’s my job to make sure all infection control procedures are followed and to ensure the care home is clean for the residents, their families and the team. When I’m not working, I love spending time with my family.”

Our culture and values

Every one of our Care UK colleagues makes a difference to fulfilling the lives of our residents. Colleagues at Care UK are guided by our core values: Caring, Passionate and Teamwork.

Caring
We want to get to know each of our colleagues as individuals, residents and each other with kindness, dignity and respect. We want to make every moment count and be supportive of each other in all we do.

Passionate
We want to be proud of the care we deliver but always look for ways to do things better. While we bring our commitment and energy to our roles, we will always put our training and expertise into practice.

Teamwork
We encourage our colleagues to be open to learning and improving, to speak up if needed and work with others to find solutions to problems. Our staff can always ask for help and also offer it where they can. We understand the importance of the families and communities in which we deliver care.

Our teams have a shared sense of purpose and each care home’s team has a say in our vision and values.We understand the importance of creating an inclusive environment in which all voices are heard. We implement an annual ‘Your Voice survey’ in which employees can anonymously give their opinion which is followed up by meetings to discuss what is being done well as well as ways we can improve.

We understand the mental health of our employees is extremely important and therefore we have Mental Health First Aiders available for employees to reach out to when needed. Whether you need a quick chat or a more in-depth discussions, we are here to listen.

Perks and benefits

One of the many advantages of working for Care UK is we offer a variety of marketing-leading benefits and incentives for our staff members. These range from shopping discounts, holiday buy scheme, refer a friend scheme, free uniforms and many more.

Recognition is a big part of our culture at Care UK and we offer several ways for staff to feel seen for the hard work they do. This includes our GEM Awards that staff can recommend each other for both in and out of their home service, Long Service Award for outstanding commitment to working for Care UK and even our Christmas Gift Voucher that all Care UK employees receive to help with your Christmas shopping.

The table below shows the many ways that our Perks and Benefits can help you save money while working at Care UK.

Equality, diversity & inclusion

We are committed to creating a working environment where all colleagues can achieve their full potential, free from discrimination or harassment.

We're proud to promote our diverse workforce. Having a team of different ages, genders and backgrounds ensures fresh thinking and encourages creativity and teamwork.

We are committed to nurturing an inclusive culture and affording equal opportunities to all.

We operate a values-based recruitment strategy which means that there are opportunities for all members of the community, including those with little to no experience.

Values-Based Recruitment

Our ‘no experience necessary’ approach means we operate a values-based recruitment strategy ensuring opportunities are open to all.

Community-based events

Our colleagues participate in community events ranging from LGBTQ+ Pride events across the country to Barrio Fiesta in Hampton and many more.

Inclusion networks

We have a number of inclusion networks which colleagues are encouraged to join, such as Colleague Voices, Mental Health First Aiders and an EDI Committee.

Equality Diversity Inclusion (EDI) committee

We involve frontline colleagues in generating feedback and ideas based on their own lived EDI experiences.

Partnering with social mobility charity Speakers for Schools

We’re delivering a project for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) on behalf of Greater Essex Careers Hub. We aim to support this and similar initiatives nationally in the long run.

Practical information about working in Gateshead, Tyne & Wear

Armstrong House is a modern, purpose-built home set in the sought-after area of Gateshead. The bus stop on Lobley Hill Road-Victoria Road is accessible by various bus routes making it widely accessible by public transport.

We have on-site parking and have wheelchair access. Gateshead has much to offer when it comes to a well-rounded lifestyle. The area is famous for its landmarks, such as the Angel of the North, Gateshead Millennium Bridge, and the nationally popular MetroCentre.