New Office Team - Minster Home Care

Derek Ward Director After operating a domestic home service franchise for 20 years in the York and Harrogate area, Derek developed a real passion for care and customer service. Therefore in 2020, along with sister Emma, they made a dream into a reality and launched Minster Home Care. With a passion for staff recruitment, governance, and marketing, plus existing experience in operating a very similar business model to domiciliary care, Derek felt that this would be an industry he would gain further job satisfaction from by helping families remain together in their own homes.
Emma Ward Co-Owner & Director Along with brother Derek, Emma is one of the co-founders of the company. Emma’s dream for providing professional Home Care came to life when she couldn’t find a reliable company to support a family member. Emma has 25 years experience with customer care and marketing, and along with her sibling, she has operated another home service company for over 20 years. Fast forward a few years later, whilst juggling children and her other business, Emma was instrumental in setting up and developing Minster Home Care into what you see today. Emma supports the continuous development of the team, and helps steer the company in a positive direction.
Lauren Higgins Registered Manager Lauren has 17 years of care experience and started her career when her Grandma suffered a stroke and she subsequently left employment to become her Grandmas carer. Lauren built up her experience by working as a complex care practitioner and has gained experience within a wide range of care settings. She has personally witnessed the benefits of excellent care and the positive effect it can have on a persons life. With Lauren’s huge passion for delivering an exceptional care service, she was promoted to Registered Manager of Minster Home Care in the Spring of 2023.
Harriet Stent Senior Training & Development With the start of the pandemic, Harriet’s previous employment unfortunately ended so she turned to volunteering within her local community. Harriet found that she loved looking after people which thus led her to find a job in home care. After starting with Minster Home Care as a Home Care assistant in June 2021, Harriet has grown into a senior member of the office management team with her main role now training, nurturing and developing new and existing staff.
Ruth Moore Senior Compliance Lead Ruth started her journey in the care environment in 1998 in a local care home. Since then, she has worked with young adults with learning disabilities and within an education setting, supporting young families and children. Ruth has been with the company since Autumn 2021, and with her previous experience, she now works on the Compliance and Safeguarding elements of the business.
Roxy Judson Client Engagement Lead Roxy’s health care journey started in her late teens, when she received a job offer from York Hospital. Roxy was a Ward Clerk for 10 years and went on to work as a Discharge Liaison and Patient Flow Officer. During this time Roxy gained valuable experience of working with multi-disciplinary teams, including external home care providers who liaised with transport companies to ensure patients arrived home safely. After starting part time at Minster Home Care, Roxy joined the company on a full time basis in late 2022. Roxy’s role involves engaging with new and existing clients in the community, ensuring each of them continues to be happy with the service they receive from Minster Home Care.
Poppy Lea Carer & Office Apprentice Poppy joined the Minster team on a part time basis in April 2023. Since then, Poppy has gone through her A Level examinations and joined the company on a full time basis. Poppy has met the vast majority of our service users and she is also enrolled on an Apprentice Degree through Minster Home Care. Poppy supports the office team with various tasks, from staff scheduling, data entry, and general administration.
Lewis Nicholson Field Care Supervisor Lewis joined the company in the summer of 2021 as a Home Care Assistant. Lewis is very passionate about his role and subsequently became a member of the office team in 2023. Lewis’s role is a mixture of caring for clients and working alongside the managerial team, supporting with various tasks such as compliance and training.
Rachel Liddell Field Care Supervisor Rachel has worked with Minster Home Care since 2022. She has a real passion for our clients and colleagues. Rachel’s role is to support the office team out in the field by training new colleagues and ensuring the level of care delivered is up to the highest standards.