Nestled in the small Northumberland village of Riding Mill is a care home with a difference. More than just a nursing home, Wentworth Grange is also a hotel, a bar and a restaurant that puts the comfort of its guests first.
With a lifelong family connection with the picturesque facility, Managing Director Jeff Lee considers Wentworth Grange his family home. He grew up there with his mother and father who launched the facility when Jeff was 14 years old.
The 250-year-old Edwardian House occupies 4 acres of land just outside of Corbridge and, having spent his formative years surrounded by the care home’s residents, Jeff possesses a unique understanding and empathy for elderly people and their needs.
His childhood memories of living in the home and helping his parents have shaped how he runs the facility to this day.
“As they were so much part of my everyday life, I’ve gained an amazing perspective; so much more than a manager working in a care home,” he said. “I’ve literally grown-up living with our residents as we called them then.”
Now, Wentworth Grange refers to its clients as ‘guests’, offering those who stay at the facility a more personal approach to care centred around comfort, quality and homeliness.
Rather than calling itself a nursing home, Wentworth Grange is branded as a residential hotel for the elderly.
“The day I started working here I remember the feeling of utmost pride,” Jeff continues. “Everybody here who lives with us lives with us in our family home and I think that’s quite a unique perspective on running a care home.
“I tell our staff that we have to not be a nursing home; this is a hotel that cares for you. Everything we do must add value to the guests’ lives.”
“We must surprise and delight our customers. When they come here, I tell my team, we have one minute from them coming up the drive to coming in, we have to impress them.”
Before starting work at Wentworth Grange 35 years ago, Jeff worked for the NHS as a registered nurse. The job gave him the “best training possible” for his future role running Wentworth Grange, but after several years, he felt his career was “going nowhere”. Ready for a fresh challenge, returning to the family business felt like the natural next step.
“I felt like I was jumping into a place that had possibilities,” he said.
17 years ago, Jeff’s father passed away, leaving him with more responsibility over the care home, working alongside his mother Phyliss. Jeff remembers his father “always working with his hands, fixing or building something”, while his mother was always looking to make a difference with her work.
The family moved into Wentworth Grange in 1980, his parent’s risking everything to build the business. The couple initially set up the business alongside a partner who expected to be “rolling in money”. A year later, the business was struggling to get off the ground and their partner soon left with no notice.
Initially, Jeff’s parents considered returning to their former careers, his mother a trained nurse and his father a factory worker. But the family were determined to succeed.
“We decided as a family to risk our shirts. We risked everything on this,” Jeff explained. “These two seemingly ordinary people possessed the drive and the ability to take an idea forward – often against the odds – and thrive.
“They transformed themselves from busy professionals with two young sons into successful business people. They were inspirational to me as a young man looking for a way to succeed in life.”
The business now employs around 60 people and is considered one of the best care homes, not just in the North East, but in the country as a whole.
Jeff takes a hands-on approach to running Wentworth Grange. Leading from the front, he takes pride in having done “every job role in the business”, from upkeep and labouring to nursing and business development. There is nothing he would ask his team to do that he hadn’t already done himself.
“I learned from my dad how to work and how not to give up and then my mother had the real passion for care and good practice. “Those things gave me a good start and a good framework to build off of.
“It’s very important to me that we are not afraid to be different; to work hard and go beyond standard care and nursing. Coming here my parents always wanted to do things differently and that’s still how we work. I’m always hungry for different and hungry for better.”
Jeff’s commitment to the business, his guests and their families is unparalleled. Constantly looking for new ways to improve the experience of living in his home, Jeff’s restless energy to innovate and the genuine respect he has for his clients is infectious.
“Here, there’s only one way to nurse someone and that’s the right way. “We have a big responsibility to people’s mums, dads, aunts, uncles and grandmas and granddads. We’ve got to do things the right way.
“The team all know that I’m on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Any issue, even from my suppliers, from the families, I’ll be there.”
When Wentworth Grange first opened, the standard of care for the elderly in Northumberland was poor. Nursing homes continue to get a bad reputation. They can be seen as depressing places; places where ‘people go to die’. The residents of care homes are often perceived as being no longer independent or ‘losing their identity’, Jeff added.
The Lee family were determined to create a care home that proved the stereotype wrong, endeavouring to open a high-end care home that prioritised their guest’s comfort.
The facility used fine bone China and was decorated with Italian-made furniture to make their guests’ time in the nursing home special. Jeff has continued to pay close attention to the details.
Jeff actively avoids nursing home suppliers, favouring companies that produce more luxurious products. Right down to the towels and bedding, Jeff and his team ensure their guests are provided with the home comforts that can make a huge difference to their quality of life.
If a supplier comes to him pitching that their company supplies all the nursing homes in the area, he quickly looks somewhere else.
“If somebody comes to us and says, ‘we supply all of the nursing homes in the area’, I say, ‘no thanks’. One company that supplies towels came to us and I said no; I wanted lovely, fluffy towels so we’ve got some lovely Turkish towels and they’re stunning.”
One of Wentworth Grange’s main attractions is its Italian-themed restaurant which has a reputation for great food extending far beyond the confines of the home.
Its staff bring a wealth of experience working in the region’s top restaurants. One of the two managers who runs the dining area formerly worked at the Michelin-starred restaurant Hjem in Hadrian. The care home is now currently installing a six-figure luxury bar which is due to open next year.
Stepping into Wentworth Grange, one of the first things you will notice is the dress code. To avoid the clinical aesthetic of most care homes, the Wentworth’s staff are clad in waistcoats, suits and dresses.
The uniforms not only contribute to the home’s hotel-esque aesthetic, it also puts a spring in the step of its staff, Jeff said.
“If you look good at work and you’re valued it makes such a difference. “When I walk in with my three piece suit I feel on top of the world. My team are all well-dressed and well-valued and I think people work better as a result.”
Looking to the future, Jeff wants to see Wentworth Grange ranked among the top care homes in the country. The business has big plans for the coming months but, for now, he is keeping these projects under wraps.
“We’re going to keep on surprising and delighting our guests. “If we can constantly keep surprising people, cared needn’t be the way it is.
“It’s been a lot of hard work and it’s a full-on job but it’s worth it when I see my customers smile again and the families are happy.”
For more information head to www.wentworthgrange.com
