Langford Park Care Home, outside Exeter in Devon, has appointed Ed Courtney as home manager, responsible for 50 staff at the 35-bed home, as well as overseeing substantial modernisation and refurbishment project currently under way.

Langford Park’s care services include residential, dementia, nursing, palliative and respite care. Renovations at the home include new lounge spaces and communal areas, a new dining room and furniture, a revamped hair dressing salon and a new laundry. Following consultation with the home’s residents, all the rooms are also being repainted. 

Courtney’s first care job at 16 was as an activities co-ordinator in a care home. He later worked for a care consultancy, visiting hundreds of homes across the country advising managers about staffing, introducing new systems, and developing a positive working culture. More recently Courtney has been a change manager, supporting struggling homes, and in one case helping turn a home around from being rated Inadequate by the Care Quality Commission, to being Good in under six months.

Courtney said: “I am very ambitious for the home and my overarching priority is to improve the lives of those living and working at Langford Park. I have a number of exciting plans for the home. Keeping our residents stimulated and engaged is vital for example, and I have already hired two new activities co-ordinators who will get the residents out gardening, baking, doing yoga and on trips outside the home. I will ensure that our residents are central to decisions made about the home and the care they receive, which will always be top quality.”