registered nurse

care assistant

senior care assistant

deputy manager

domestic assistant

Minster Care Group

When I arrived at The Lakes I was excited and it seemed a lovely place to work. The management seemed welcoming and friendly. About a few months into my role I saw the home's true colours, there was little engagement for the residents and even when I tried to have conversations with them to make them feel happy I was whisked away to do another task so I had to apologise and run off. I feel like a day at work is rushed and inorganic, for example we had to have the residents up at a specific time and do so in a specific time so the quality of care was affected. 

The "on-the-job training" is just a bunch of guesswork, I stated I had no previous experience working in Care however when I became an employee I was expected to just know what to do which led me to a bit of trouble. The training was mostly online which was boring and just videos (which were over 12 hours altogether) with a quiz at the end it was rare that there were in person training which I found more engaging.

The management do not care about you as a person nevermind an employee, most of the time all you'll get is a "bless you". It really made me question why some people work in a place where the main goal is to care. There is no morale in the workplace and it feels like walking on eggshells every shift. I experienced so much work stress I had to change role.

I do not recommend working here nor sending your loved ones here as the residents just sit in the lounge rotting away loaded with drugs and the staff don't really want to be here either unless you're one of the management's favourites. 

A typical day at work:
Night shifts usually started with a handover from the day team, followed by regular checks on residents, assisting with toileting, repositioning for comfort, and ensuring a calm, safe environment overnight. We also completed light cleaning and paperwork.

What you believe you learned:
I developed a stronger sense of responsibility, improved my ability to work independently, and learned how to handle emergencies during quiet hours. It also strengthened my observation and communication skills.

management:
Management was generally supportive and approachable. They provided guidance when needed, 

Workplace culture:
There was a close-knit atmosphere among the night team. We relied on each other and communicated well, which made the nights smoother and less stressful.

The hardest part of the job:
Staying alert throughout the night and handling emergencies with limited staff could be challenging. It was also emotionally tough dealing with residents who were confused or distressed at night.

The most enjoyable part of the job:
The quiet environment allowed for more one-on-one care. Knowing I helped residents sleep safely and comfortably was very rewarding.


The most enjoyable part of my job is spending time with service users and supporting their wellbeing. However, the workplace culture is extremely negative, with widespread discrimination and unfair treatment of staff. Workloads are often divided unequally, with one person expected to complete the work of three, leading to exhaustion and burnout. Staff are treated as if they are slaves, with little recognition or respect. Information that should be shared openly is deliberately hidden, and policies that could support staff are not applied fairly. Favoritism from care home management creates further divisions, while bullying and discrimination make it hard to trust colleagues or feel safe. Professional development is discouraged, and opportunities for progression are deliberately blocked. Although I remain committed to service users, the lack of fairness, respect, and support in the workplace makes the environment very difficult and demoralising to work in.

I worked here for almost 2 years & within that time way too many illegal & unbelievably dangerous things happened.. in the end i reported 2 older members of staff for forcefully moving an 89 year old blind lady who's husband had just died a few days earlier.. just so she would be in bed & they could sit down.. i was removed from my usual shifts and put onto days then mentally driven into the ground until i felt i had no choice but to leave.. this isn't to say that i wont persevere with my care career.. i if every good carer gave up the residents would just end up in a horrible prison. Also the manager who is still working there is beyond corrupt.. before residents have even passed for a couple of days she gets right on filling the rooms back up even though there is a mandatory 2 week period where the families are allowed to take their time removing their loved ones possessions. Not a single bit of personal information is kept confidential by either the seniors or the manager in fact they like to spread the word as fast as possible. That place should have been shut down years ago but they seem to be rather good at sweeping things under the carpet where nobody can see!

Disgusted what I saw and heard from a carer to a manager who asked him very politely to assist my relative along side herself with a care issue,he called the manager an obscene word and ignored her request, had many issues with this carer in particular and his horrible attitude, nasty piece of work and his partner as well who also worked there.
New management team arrived and I was overall appalled about how the lead manager spoke about previous staff , rude 
and obnoxious and on more then one occasion was so unpleasant to the junior manager was reduced to tears, seemed to have a problem with her which still occurred after she had left as I personal saw that he had issues with her which were not justified and as a relative I did not need to know what problems they were having , very unprofessional on his part who should know better.
There is a lot of uncertainty about the place and it’s future to which I never received an honest answer to my questions apart from one of the managers who unfortunately left, with new managers I was blatantly lied too me. 
Have no confidence in the new managers any more then I did the previous manager, director is obnoxious and arrogant , often heard his shouting in corridors and humiliating the staff unnecessarily.

Avoid at all costs , managers are nasty bullies.
Operations manager is a drama queen and who loves causing dramas has a hissie fit every five minutes , screams at staff, total idiot, threatening to sack people all the time , CQC need to know all about this person and his “professional standards “ as their lacking from what I’ve seen, very unprofessional in my eyes.
Regional manager and manage sat in the office all day filling their faces , no communication just threats of home closing if their having a bad day, New deputy walks around in a daze , clearly has no idea what’s going on and is horrible to staff.
Glad I’ve left now as these new managers have made it ten times worse , totally lacking in respect to what was a troubled home is now in critical stage and still blame managers that have left months ago for their shortfalls.
Don’t like been told the truth and constantly lie hence why people leave as trust has gone .
Honest truth is the current managers are too busy worrying about their status then the homes welfare , they can blame the past managers or whoever they like , I have seen first hand what is happening and it is totally their conduct that is ruining this home.

The company is doing whatever they can to pay their staff the least amount possible, by slashing the overtime and holiday rates and even by derecognising the employees' trade union to avoid them speaking up.  Also, the care home is constantly understaffed and the pressure is high every single day. The general morale is absolutely down, all employees are stressed, feel underappreciated and are not able to care about the residents at their best. The good ones are leaving already. The company doesn't want to pay their staff more yet they waste a lot of money by continuously employing untrained agencies care staff. The workplace is in shambles. But they don't care, they don't care about the staff at all, they only care about money, even if they're actually putting the residents at risk. Minster Care Group has been all over the news for weeks now because, for the very first time for care homes in Scotland, the staff in 3 care homes is going to strike. They can't take any of it anymore. It says a lot about how bad they are.

The care here is fantastic. It good even though the home  looks a little old the Care given is good. I just feel staff have the lack of support from Senior management, and  we are currently running at bare minimum. My major concern is with the regional director, he is not at all supportive and it’s a very “ my way or the highway” deal. The current manager is trying her best but without support from the regional director who barges in the home, throwing life plans on the floor and has a very arrogant attitude. The moral is low and support sometimes seems to be non existent. The owners should be aware. This has the potential to be a great home but a lot of staff are not supported in the right way. The owners should be ashamed. I agree that even though we are not at full capacity ( about half ) I still think that this is ridiculous at how they will keep cutting staff. This home a while back used to have a rating of good and now we have inadequate due to lack of support from the regional director. Minster should look at these reviews and do something.



Start of shift 07.45 Hand over off three deputy managers off each of the units. Residential/ EMI / End of life. Each of the handovers would relate any concerns off each of the clients. Staffing ratio on all of the three units. Daily diary on all three units example appointments doctor visits so on. Each day the home was always short of staff so the home budget would be always high due to sickness and high turn over of staff. I did speak with the provider to see if we could pay our nurses may be £1per hour more in their wages but the provider said he would rather pay bank staff which he wouldn't have to pay holidays. So at times i was fighting a losing battle. Where the home was situated they had just built a Prison which they were offering nurses £18.50p per hour which my provider was only paying £15 per hour.

At the start of my shift I give out handover to staff so we all know how the residents are doing and weather there are any special requirements that day. I then delegate duties to staff. Once staff are on the shop floor I check the diary for any appointments. I then proceed to administer medication to 40 residents. I work along side the home manager to ensure that all persons that enter the building are safe. I deal with may outside agents such as doctors, social workers, physio's etc. 
Management are always full off support and will help with any problems or difficulties. 
All co-workers give 110% when it comes to assisting residents and take pride in their work.
The hardest thing for me is not having the time to sit and interact with the residents for long periods as I have a lot of paperwork.
The most enjoyable part is knowing you've made a difference to someones life.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Registered nurse 21 salaries reported	£21.39 per hour
Care assistant 62 salaries reported	£12.77 per hour
Senior care assistant 36 salaries reported	£13.45 per hour
Deputy manager 2 salaries reported	£24.44 per hour
Domestic assistant 33 salaries reported	£12.52 per hour

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