Council Members
Shirley Way
Head of Area (Midlands) - Skills for Care
Bio
Shirley Way is the Midlands Head of Area for Skills for Care.
Skills for Care is England’s strategic workforce development and planning body for adult social care. We work with employers, Government, and partners to ensure social care has the right people, skills, and support required
Shirley’s team works directly with adult social care providers, as well as a wide range of other partners within the local health and care systems
Prior to her current role, Shirley has many years of experience working within the sector, including as a manager for children’s residential services and developing and managing a care partnership for the adult social care sector.
Social care nurses are an integral part of the sector workforce, with almost 40k within England and approximately—750 qualified Nursing Associates (as of 2024). Many social care nurses also have management roles.
We need to ensure that these care professionals remain updated and develop both their clinical, leadership and management skills/knowledge, also that they are offered support and guidance to continue this vital role in the social care sector
Shanci Mathew
Registered Manager/Matron - Morton Grange
Bio
I was born and raised in Kerala, India. I completed my BSc in nursing at MG University, Little Flower Hospital, Angamaly. After completing my nursing degree, I worked as a clinical instructor/tutor at Fatima Hospital, Lucknow, for a few years.
In 2002, I came to the UK and did my Adaptation programme at Morton Grange Nursing Home. I worked as a nurse there for 3 years. After that, I was promoted to Deputy Manager/ Matron. Three years later, I was promoted to the registered manager and matron position. I have been doing that role for more than 15 years now.
During this time, as a mentor, I have supported many overseas nurses in achieving their PIN numbers. I have done qualifications like RMA, NVQ assessor, Internal Verifier, mentorship etc. As our home specialises in Dementia care, I decided to do my Masters in dementia.
With the support of my Employer, I completed my MSc in Dementia studies with the University of Bradford in 2016. As the Registered Manager, I manage over 60 residents and a team of 90 staff. We try to give our service users a home away from home experience.
My most significant achievement in my workplace is the happy and content service users and a steady staff team. Our current score on Carehome.Co.Uk based on customer feedback is 9.9/10.
As a care home, we never used any agency staff in the last 38 years and our staff turnover is very low. We won numerous awards for the Care home in the last few years, such as Best Care Home, Dementia Care Home, Regional and National winner of the Best Care Home Manager in the Great British Care awards, Dignity in Care award, shortlisted for Dementia care home Manager award etc.
This is in addition to the multiple awards won by our various team members. I won the Social care Nursing award in 2023 from Chief Nursing Officer Deborah Sturdy. I was nominated to attend the Kings Garden Party in 2024 as a recognition for my contribution to Social care.
I have been involved in many forums and support groups outside my workplace, including the Derbyshire End of Life Forum, Care Home Communication and Engagement Forum, EHCH, etc.
I have been the Chair of the Registered Managers Network for Derbyshire for the last couple of years.
I am very passionate about social care, and I have dedicated my heart and soul to it for the last 22 years. In my role as a Registered Manager, I was able to make meaningful changes to many people’s lives. My dream is to get Social care the recognition it deserves and acknowledge it as a specialism. I want to be a strong advocate for Social care as I feel that the work done by many is not always recognised or appreciated as it should be. I dream about that day when people choose to work in Social care over NHS or any other sector. I would like to see a more compassionate and inclusive society where everyone- regardless of background or challenges- receives the support they need to lead fulfilling lives.
Darren Pitcher
Group Commissioning & Operations Manager - Bracebridge Care Group
Bio
I’ve been a registered nurse for 15 years, and most of that time has been spent in Adult Social Care.
I’ve worked in prominent regional roles for larger corporate companies like BUPA and Care UK, but more recently have held more senior leadership positions in small but growing providers who are commissioning new services.
I currently work for Bracebridge, who have multiple homes across the country, but the first two homes are in the Midlands region and are very much focused on supporting local authorities and people who require state funding.
My background has mainly been around quality improvement/assurance and compliance. Still, for the last few years I have been combining this experience with becoming much more operational and assisting homes to get outstanding ratings with CQC.
Vicky Sandy-Davis
FHEA, MSc Forensic Mental Health Care, PGCHEPP, RN(LD)
Bio
Vicky qualified as a Learning Disabilities Nurse in 1996. She has worked across a wide range of services in the NHS and the independent health and social care sectors. She is a qualified Positive Behaviour Support coach and a self-harm and suicide assessment trainer.
Vicky has recently taken up a post with the Royal College of Nursing as Lead Nurse for the independent health and social care sector for the West Midlands region, having previously worked at Coventry University for twelve and a half years, both as Assistant Professor and Course Director for Learning Disability Nursing.
For nine years prior to this she worked as a Forensic Community Charge Nurse, and Mental Impairment Community Nurse. Vicky has a special interest in the support of people with learning disabilities and autism and the criminal justice system.
Diane Mayhew
Co Founder and Campaign Manager - Rights for Residents
Bio
I am the co founder and Campaign Manager at Rights for Residents.
Four years ago, I never imagined I would become a passionate campaigner, but Covid turned my world upside down.
My Mother in Law Jean, was living in a care home with advanced dementia and had always relied on my partner and I for practical and emotional support. When the pandemic struck, she was isolated and forcibly separated from us.
We witnessed her rapid decline via windows and iPads and felt powerless to comfort or reassure her.
People up and down the country joined us and became active campaigners, raising the voices of those that weren’t being heard. Motivated by sheer desperation, we began fighting for Gloria’s Law – the right to maintain contact with loved ones in health and care settings.
Our Rights for Residents campaign has been hugely successful in forcing changes to Government policy and ensuring thousands of people living in care of all ages were reunited with their loved ones.
Although Social Care is something that affects each and every one of us at some point in our lives, it is only when we are personally affected that we realise how important it is. I feel passionately about working in partnership with others to highlight the importance of Social Care and how we can work together to improve the experience for everyone.
Sandra Prew
RDN National Settings Lead for Residential Settings and National ENRICH Coordinatior (ENabling Research In Care Homes).
Bio
My Name is Sandra Prew, I am the RDN National Settings Lead for Residential Settings and National ENRICH Coordinatior (ENabling Research In Care Homes).
I have been supporting research in wider care settings for the last 9 years , firstly in Hospice and then in Care homes.
I started working with Care Homes 9 yrs ago as West Midlands ENRICH Lead and became the National ENRICH Coordinator during Covid. I support Care home research Nationally and provide support to those working within care homes to become research-aware and engaged. I also work with researchers and care homes to become research-active.
Locally, I am an Assistant Research Delivery Manager supporting research development in social care settings, including local authorities, Schools, Prisons, and other settings. I have supported the development of policies and procedures to enable organisations to become research-aware, engaged, and active.
I am keen to support other settings using the wealth of experience I have from working across these settings and supporting research from idea to the dissemination of research findings.
Social care deserves to have its achievements celebrated and those who work in social care should have the opportunity to grow and learn new things to support them both personally and professionally. I believe Research can help us to achieve that goal.
Sam Preston
Lead Nurse for Independent Health & Social Care Sector Royal College of Nursing – England East Midlands
Bio
Sam Preston is the Royal College of Nursing Lead Nurse for Independent Health and Social Care (IHSC) for the East Midlands region.
Sam’s role at the RCN is to gain parity for RCN members working in the IHSC sector through collaboration with stakeholders, care providers and all members of the nursing family. This includes delivering resources, influencing policy and tailoring RCN membership to meet the needs of those working in the IHSC sector.
Sam’s journey into health and social care began as a care assistant in a local nursing home, whilst studying for a Diploma in social care. The majority of Sam’ career has been in clinical education and social care, helping to significantly improved care for some of the most socially and economically deprived people in our communities.
Sam is passionate about the education and empowerment of those working in independent health and social care and promoting the diversity of nursing to the next generation. Managing a challenging unit in a social care organisation during the pandemic was one of the most demanding and rewarding parts of her career. This experience motivated Sam to join the RCN Team to reach and support a greater number of the workforce and strive to improve their working lives and the quality of the care they provide in our communities.