Shirley Hall has joined Royal Star and Garter – which provides care to veterans and their partners living with disability or dementia – as the charity’s new director of care and wellbeing.
She replaces former director of care Pauline Shaw, who left after 22 years last year and was awarded the Chief Nurse Adult Social Care Gold Award.
Ms Hall qualified as a nurse in 1987, and worked within the NHS for 10 years, specialising in cardiology care and setting up rehabilitation services for patients after heart attacks and surgery.
She then joined the British Heart Foundation, where she developed its ‘Hearty Lives’ programme, which aimed to address obesity and inequalities for younger people. She went on to hold senior roles at organisations including the Retirement Villages Group and The ExtraCare Charitable Trust.
Royal Star and Garter has homes in Solihull, Surbiton and High Wycombe and is seeking to widen its community reach through the launch of a telephone friendship service and lunch clubs. The organisation has also resumed day care for the first time since the pandemic and is exploring how it can support younger veterans living with disabilities.
Ms Hall said: ‘Royal Star and Garter has a fantastic reputation for providing care which is high quality, person-centred, pioneering and innovative – all things I am passionate about.’
She added: ‘My passion is innovation and new services, and I’ll bring everything I’ve learned from my previous jobs to Royal Star and Garter.
‘The homes are great and the staff are amazing, and I was really attracted by how technology is embraced within the care.
‘I’m really excited to look at what we can do for more veterans and younger veterans, and to the challenges ahead.’
Royal Star and Garter’s chief executive Andy Cole added: ‘We’re delighted to welcome Shirley to Royal Star and Garter.
‘She has a wealth of experience, real passion, and a proven track record of delivering in the charity and care sectors.
‘She joins at an exciting time, as we expand our services to reach even more of the Armed Forces community. I look forward to working with Shirley and ensuring our renowned, high-quality care improves even further.’
Last year, Walter Chikanya, head of care quality for Royal Star and Garter, told Nursing in Practice that social care was ‘looked down upon’ despite helping the NHS by preventing hospital admissions.
