From Harley Street to Birch Green Via Egypt!

A former Harley Street staff nurse who has worked alongside some of the world’s leading doctors is the  Registered Manager of Birch Green Care Home.

Catherine Shawarby, aged 54, took up her post in April 2009   vowing to put her vast professional experience into practice for the benefit of  residents.

“My standards are high and I do strive for the best. Older people deserve the best. I say that from the heart,” she announced.

After qualifying as a Registered General Nurse, Catherine moved to London to work in the private sector.

As a staff nurse at The Harley Street Clinic – where world famous heart surgeon Magdi Yacoub practised - she nursed the patients of top doctors back to health.

Moving  to Egypt, she worked as an SRN in Cairo before returning to  England  eleven years later with a husband and two children.

After working as a night nurse in a nursing home to fit in with raising her family, Catherine went into home management in 1991, gaining a Management Level 5 NVQ in 1995.

She moved into the training sector in 1998, where she spent five years as a consultant for a not for profit company.  During this time she studied Gerontology at Masters level at Salford University.

Putting into practise her new knowledge and skills, she returned as a Registered Manager for a Manchester home in 2003.   Earlier this year she was attracted to the Springhill Care Group, which owns Birch Green.

She said: “I was very impressed by their ‘patient first’ ethos and I liked the management style.  They wanted the right person and I wanted the right job!”

On arriving at Birch Green, she wasn’t disappointed.

“ I was greatly impressed by the standards of care already in place – and the staff,” she admits.