Mansfield care home director scoops top award

Sue Gallagher, of Barchester Healthcare, which runs Forest Care Home, Southwell Road West, Mansfield, was named most pioneering managing director of 2023 in the independent care home category of the managing director of the Year Awards.

Organised by SME News magazine, the awards aim to reward the very best managing directors from across the UK.

Sue, managing director of Barchester’s hospitals and complex care division, said: “I feel very humbled to win. I want to thank my team, they are true heroes who work tirelessly to provide the best care possible.

“We are all part of a big jigsaw, we all complement each other to make a whole picture. I am incredibly lucky, to work with great people who all share the same vision and want to provide quality care.”

Sue’s passion for working in care originally came about by chance as a result of a work experience placement at a psychiatric hospital.

She become a volunteer, before studying to become a psychiatric nurse.

She joined Barchester as regional manager in 2012, rising to become regional director and acting divisional director, before launching the hospitals and complex care division last year.

Dr Pete Calveley, Barchester Healthcare chief healthcare officer, said: “Sue is exceptionally hard-working and dedicated to her teams, patients and residents. She is an incredible leader and I am delighted her talent has been recognised.”