Care UK operations director Karen Seabrook shares how she managed the integration of 26 care homes under management contract from real estate investment trust Welltower

Keren Seabrook knows a thing or two about going through a major change in management. In August 2000, she was working as the registered manager at Kingsleigh care home when her employer, Surrey County Council, entered into an agreement with Care UK which saw both care homes and colleagues move under the Care UK umbrella.

“People were very loyal,” she says, of this time period: “I remember there being a period of uncertainty. No one really knew anything about Care UK then, and change makes anyone nervous.”

More than two decades later, when she was approached by Care UK chief executive Andrew Knight to manage the integration of 26 new homes under management contract from Welltower, Seabrook welcomed the challenge to oversee a successful transition. After managing several of Care UK’s new premium homes as well as contracts with councils in Islington, Surrey and Richmond, she felt her experience would enable her to align Welltower’s aims with the Care UK ethos.

Her challenge involved building a leadership team from scratch, overseeing the introduction of 2,300 staff to Care UK’s values and ways of working, and supporting residents to ensure their daily life was not disrupted.  

Under Seabrook’s leadership, the homes have flourished as part of the Care UK portfolio. In 2022, her homes saw their profitability increase by 40%, and customer satisfaction grow by 3.2%. Her thorough implementation of Care UK practices – and the support and encouragement of new colleagues – has meant that care quality is continually improving, with two homes increasing their Care Quality Commission ratings from Requires Improvement to Good since the acquisition, and Halecroft Grange recently receiving an Outstanding rating. These ratings contribute to Care UK’s high standard of care quality, which currently has 91% of the provider’s homes as rated Good or Outstanding by the CQC.

There have been key points of learning along the way. Almost two years into the contract, Seabrook can reflect on the moments she and the team are most proud of and, crucially, what they’d do differently if a similar opportunity presented itself in the future.

“It sounds like a simple thing, but visiting the homes and meeting residents, their relatives and new colleagues was something that instilled trust from the start,” Seabrook says.

This was particularly challenging as the homes were still operating within coronavirus measures, but she was determined to make the most of her visits.

“I don’t think our new colleagues expected their operational director to join in with the day’s activities and have a singsong or dance with residents – but it definitely got people talking,” Seabrook says.

Expecting that some colleagues might be hesitant to transfer to Care UK, the team had prepared themselves for turnover at the beginning of the process. But by meeting and reassuring those most affected by the changes, Seabrook and her team could reiterate Care UK’s values of caring, being passionate and teamwork, and demonstrate them in action. This opened a line of communication which remains crucial to the division’s success and was particularly helpful during the transition.

Seabrook would host regular meetings, not just with the three regional directors, but also with each home manager, to understand the individual problems faced by each home and ensure she was accessible to answer any queries or solve any challenges.

And Seabrook believes her lifelong passion for mentoring colleagues was a strength she brought to her new role.

Seabrook says “progression should be celebrated and encouraged” and she saw opportunities for promotions at all levels, including promoting two home managers in her division to become regional directors.

Two of Seabrook’s former care assistants from her time at Kingsfield are now a regional director and a fellow operations director, respectively. Others are managers at care homes, such as Appleby House and Broadwater Lodge.

When Seabrook was announced as the operational lead for the Welltower project, which also led to the creation of a new division, a number of colleagues followed her, attesting to their unwavering confidence in her management.

Seabrook’s commitment to professional development ensures training is a priority for all, and this has resulted in 135 internal promotions in 26 homes over the past year.

Keeping thorough records is an integral part of any project, but for Seabrook, they meant she and other Care UK teams could build a blueprint for any similar opportunities in the future.

On a practical level, Seabrook would encourage anyone leading a project of a similar scale to try and book time for yourself in-between meetings. This will ensure you can process the information you need to and also have time to cover welfare basics for you and your team.

Ultimately, Seabrook sees the Welltower contract as an indicator of how Care UK has established itself as a leading provider in the UK. When she joined the provider more than two decades ago, Care UK operated 36 homes across England. Now, there are 155 Care UK-run homes spanning the UK, care quality is at 91% compliance and the company has become multi award winning.

The journey is not over yet, however, and over the next 18 months the focus for Seabrook and the team will be on maintaining and continually improving care quality, ensuring that properties and facilities are in line with similar homes within Care UK and developing the leaders of the future.  

Seabrook says: “This is definitely the most challenging job I’ve had so far in Care UK, but it is absolutely the most rewarding. I look at residents and see that – thanks to our Wishing Tree initiative – they’re getting their first ever tattoos or jumping out of planes. It makes me very proud to be part of such a caring organisation that is willing to go the extra mile and dispel the myth that your life ends when you enter a care home. It doesn’t and Care UK is proof that anything is possible.”