Fremington Manor, a Care South care home situated in Barnstaple, Devon, is celebrating Deputy Home Manager, Carol Ball’s thirty years of service with the not-for-profit care home provider.

Carol worked on a maternity unit and was in charge of a Manor Wing before starting her career with Care South at Fremington Manor. The Manor Wing accommodated both nursing and residential clients and Registered Nurses cared for everyone. Whilst working on the maternity unit, Carol had three daughters of her own. This resulted in changing her work pattern to night shifts to look after her daughters during the day whist Carol’s husband, Gra looked after the children at night. Carol also worked occasional shifts during the day but has never worked anywhere else since joining the team at Fremington Manor.

In 1992, Carol was a state-enrolled nurse, and the owner of Fremington Manor at that time paid for Carol and a friend to undertake a distance learning course with King Alfred’s University to finish their degrees. When the previous Deputy Home Manager retired, Carol was interviewed for the position and was successful. In 2015, the Home Manager at the time and Carol were picked by North Devon Hospice to roll out the” 6 steps” which brought good palliative education to nursing homes. Carol enjoyed that so much that she enrolled for the post graduate course ‘Enhancing Palliative Care’.

Simon Bird, Chief Executive Officer at Care South, said: “Celebrating thirty years is no mean feat and Carol’s hard work and dedication to the business continues to shine. I would like to extend my personal thanks to Carol for all her hard work and the very high standards that continue to be observed to help residents in our care continue living rich and fulfilled lives. This long service award is a fantastic testament to Carol’s commitment to Care South and is very well deserved. Thank you, Carol.”

Carol Ball, Deputy Home Manager at Fremington Manor, added: “I know that many nurses have meteoric careers but mine is exactly what I want it to be. I have never ‘rested on my laurels’ and am always putting learning into practice. My most recent achievement was getting my Level 3 Food Hygiene and to my absolute astonishment, I loved it! There has never been a real career high as I have adored helping run the home. I would never think of going anywhere else – I certainly don’t want to as I love the place.”

Fremington Manor is a friendly care home in Barnstaple, Devon, offering residential, respite and nursing care to residents, with a homely atmosphere and 54 welcoming bedrooms. The care home offers Food, Fun and Friendship to all residents in its care and rewarding career opportunities in a not-for-profit charity.