Trustees at BBCH
The role of our trustees is to take responsibility for controlling the management and administration of the charity.
Through regular board meetings and visits, the trustees make decisions and work together to ensure Bernhard Baron Care Home delivers the excellent levels of care expected by the board and our Residents.
Our trustees
All of our trustees are members of the Quakers, known as the Religious Society of Friends, and they are unpaid volunteers. We carry out a regular audit of trustee skills to ensure we maintain a good balance in specific areas of expertise. This ensures we maintain a strong group of trustees. Our trustees are initially appointed for a period of three years and we greatly benefit from the experience of those who are willing to be reappointed.
Trustee roles
Two of our trustees are “co-clerks”, sharing the work of what would be the Chairman and Secretary in other organisations, and a third takes the role of Treasurer.
The trustees meet four times a year with the managers at the homes. During these meetings, the strategy and policies at the homes are decided and important issues are shared and discussed. Additionally, we have a number of committees that meet regularly to address specific areas, including the Finance and Investment group, the Management and Development group and the Premises Committee.
Our regulations require one of the trustees to visit Bernhard Baron Care Home each month and prepare a written report about their visit for the management and other trustees. Whilst these visits normally focus on one area of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) guidelines, an essential part of the visits are the conversations they have with a number of Residents and members of staff. This ensures we maintain our open Quaker ethos and any potential concerns are aired as soon as possible.
Our trustees are there for you if you need them
Any complaint which the managers cannot resolve to everyone’s satisfaction is referred to the trustees. However, any issue that has even the smallest possibility of leading to a complaint is taken to a trustee much earlier than this in order to ensure it is dealt with quickly, fairly and to the resident’s or his or her family’s satisfaction.
“I have been a trustee of Bernhard Baron Care Home (BBCH) for over 10 years and have
found the experience rewarding, challenging and interesting. BBCH is a Quaker care home,
with a board of Quaker trustees. Our staff and Residents are drawn from a variety of faiths
and none, but our Quaker values of respect and care for each individual, equality and
truthfulness are upheld by managers and staff and it has been a great privilege to work with
such a dedicated team. Over the years they have worked hard to bring many improvements
in the care of each resident, meeting individual needs and preferences so that residents can
continue to live full lives as independently as possible. Each time I have visited BBCH
residents have told me how lucky they feel to be so well looked after, and I have been struck
by the warm, homely atmosphere and by the number and variety of activities residents can
participate in. I feel proud of our Homes and grateful to have had the opportunity to work
there.”
