An ‘inspiring’ care home owner has retired after 35 years, leaving a legacy for future generations in the family run business. After surviving many challenges over the years including covid, Kamini Shone feels proud of the countless people she has helped at Gerald House in Oxton.
Kamini, who is about to reach her 70th birthday, has ran Gerald House since 1990 — caring for patients of differing mental and physical disabilities. For over four decades, she has managed teams who deliver outstanding levels of care and she is now passing on the baton to her daughter Kali Marchant, who is continuing the legacy and also strives for the same goals for the residents’ best care.
At Gerald House, the staff pride themselves on delivering exceptional care and the home’s CQC rating has been maintained excellently throughout the history of business, demonstrating their dedication to their cause. The staff also help to create the atmosphere of joy and help to give the care home a “homely” feel as stated by many families and friends of residents over the years.
Kamini, originally from Trinidad, opened Gerald House after a successful career in nursing. When she first bought the care home she had three young children and a nursing job, yet was still able to impressively balance these. Her main highlight of her time is the overall sense of achievement when making a difference in her community and helping those in need despite the extremely demanding aspects of the business.
Kamini explained: “I feel so very proud of what I’ve achieved at Gerald House during the past 35 years. Running a care home comes with lots of hard work and regulations to adhere to, so to deliver such a great standard for such a long period of time makes me very proud. Of course, it would not have been possible without our amazing staff.”
She continued: “The staff here have always been amazing and we only employ full time staff rather than outsource agency staff, and we’ve always been very particular about who we employ. You can teach people anything, but you can’t teach people how to care — here at Gerald House we’ve had some absolutely wonderful people working for us.”
Naturally, there have been very challenging times during the past 35 years — such as residents passing away and of course, Covid back in 2020, where Kamini feared for not only her family but her second family at Gerald House. As resources were scarce at the time, it put a huge strain on the business however they adapted and survived. They managed to protect themselves and the business which is something she feels was due to her “lending a hand to everything”.
Kamini and her team ensure that residents have unforgettable moments and experiences prior to end of life such as days out and trips, such as theatre and ferry trips, and nostalgic entertainment within the home. This is done despite the difficulties of transportation due to the support of the team of staff who are able to make this possible.
It is so important to Kamini and her team to support people as she says “from high quality care comes high quality life”. They believe that their care has such an impact on their residents’ lives and therefore they will give the best care they can in order to make sure the residents enjoy their lives there. They do this through their unique idea of a Resident Ambassador who offers them opinions and views of the community to help them create the best life by taking on board fresh ideas.
Kamini summarised: “We have created something truly special at Gerald House that’s stood the test of time. We’ve delivered exceptional levels of care for so many years now. I’m sad to be retiring however the home is in good hands. My daughter Kali has been here for 15 years but has been involved since she was a little girl and even my granddaughters work there, so it’s still very much in the family.”
An ‘inspiring’ care home owner has retired after 35 years, leaving a legacy for future generations in the family run business. After surviving many challenges over the years including covid, Kamini Shone feels proud of the countless people she has helped at Gerald House in Oxton.
Gerald House / 4 Gerald Road, Oxton, Wirral, CH43 2JX / 0151 652 1606 / geraldhouse.shone@gmail.com
For more on Gerald House or to enquire about rooms call 0151 652 1606
