About us
The Foundation was established by Barchester Healthcare to reinvest into the communities it serves, and each year the Company commits generous funding towards our charitable work.
In addition to this Barchester staff and care home residents work hard to fundraise and contribute in exciting and innovative ways.
Our mission
To make a difference to the lives of older people and other adults with a physical or mental disability; supporting practical solutions that lead to increased personal independence, self-sufficiency and dignity.
What we do
The Barchester Healthcare Foundation helps older people and other adults with a disability, across England, Scotland and Wales, who cannot obtain sufficient state funding and who show greatest need.
We give grants to help improve people's quality of life and aim to make a difference in situations where others cannot help. We hope that our grants will help people lead more fulfilled lives and reach their full potential.
Our trustees
The Barchester Healthcare Foundation is a registered charity with a mix of Company and independent trustees who have a wealth of experience working with older and disabled people both within private health care, the public and voluntary sectors including research into ageing and advisory services to the government.
Mike Parsons is the Chairman of the Barchester Healthcare Foundation.
Mike has vast management experience originally from within the advertising and design business, where as Chief Operating Officer, he rationalised the Saatchi International network, involving the merging of many different people businesses. Following two years in the US researching various healthcare facilities and business practices, Mike returned to the UK and set up Country Life Care Centres, which merged with Eskgrove in 1994 to form Barchester Healthcare. Over the next twelve years, Mike oversaw the development of Barchester to the position it holds today as the fourth largest nursing care provider in the UK and the premium operator in the sector. He is now Group Chief Executive of Grove - which is Barchester's holding company.
Christine has been involved in organising and raising funds for various charities for over 25 years. She has held many positions within charities including secretary, treasurer, vice president and president. She brings a very hands on approach to the team and has an in-depth knowledge of how charities strive to raise funds for good causes and how these funds are best applied and put into good use by the charities concerned.
Christine works for Barchester Healthcare as Home Administrator at Forest Hill Care Home in Worksop, Nottinghamshire. She has a day-to-day working knowledge and understanding of the group of people that The Foundation has been set up to help and support.
Malcolm Johnson has been Professor of Health and Social Policy at the University of Bristol (now Emeritus) since 1995. From 1984 - 95 he was Professor of Health and Social Welfare and the first Dean of the School of Health and Social Welfare at the Open University. He is also Director of the International Institute on Health and Ageing.
His research interests are wide but focus on ageing and the lifespan. For over 20 years he has taken an active interest in the long term care of older people. As an author he has published seven books and numerous articles on the subject of ageing.
Following 11 years as Chief Executive of the medical research charity, Research into Ageing, Elizabeth Mills co-ordinated its merger with Help the Aged in 2001. She has since established her own consultancy, Éminence Grise, providing fundraising, communications and strategic development advice to small and medium sized charities.
Elizabeth is a trustee of three other charities, and school governor of a large comprehensive school. She is Hon Director of Homeshare International, and Deputy Chairman of the CCC Group committed to improving standards of long term care in the UK. She also chairs the Advisory Committee of the Research Councils programme, SPARC - Strategic Promotion of Ageing Research Capacity.
Nick has a variety of experience working with charities; both working directly with the people the charity has been set up for, as well as in a managerial and administrative capacity. In particular, he has worked closely with charitable organisations supporting the needs of sick children and vulnerable adults.
Nick works for Barchester Healthcare as General Manager of The Rhallt Care Home in Welshpool, Wales. He has many years experience within the care industry and a real empathy with the group of people the Foundation has been set up to help and support.
Janice's working life has focused on disability and ageing issues. She has led empirical research projects, undertaken policy analysis, produced critiques of health and social care policy and has directed service development programmes designed to improve care and support for older people. At the Kings Fund her work focused on people with a long term illness and disability and resulted in a number of influential reports on the care and support of older people; including long term funding, intermediate care and age discrimination in health and social care.
Janice is currently a non-executive director of Brighton and Hove Primary Care Trust and she represents the PCT on the city's Joint Commissioning Board. Previously, she has worked in voluntary organisations as well as in local government.
Christopher Vellenoweth is the Vice Chairman of the Barchester Healthcare Foundation.
Christopher Vellenoweth is an external adviser to Barchester Healthcare and a founder trustee of the charity. After a management career to area chief officer in the NHS, he joined the national representative body for NHS boards and led work on the regulation of nursing homes, was a member of several national working groups including the Dept of Health "No Secrets" on the detection and prevention of abuse and the King's Fund inquiry on care and support, "Future Imperfect?" Latterly he was a named specialist advisor for nine inquiries of the House of Commons Health Select Committee. A member of the Joseph Rowntree Care Services Committee, he is a non-executive director of the Royal Liverpool Children's NHS Trust, chairing its clinical governance committee.