For many, moving into a care home comes at a time when so much is already changing. It’s rarely a choice in the way people would want it to be, more a necessary step when staying at home is sadly no longer possible. It can feel daunting and unfamiliar, and worried thoughts turn to what it will mean for independence, routines, and choice in how you’ve lived your life day to day.

For Warren, a resident at Gibraltar Nursing Home in Monmouth, that experience was a little different.

His connection to Gibraltar Nursing Home didn’t begin when he moved in – it started years earlier through his work as a nurse in the same home he now lives in.

Warren had spent much of his working life in nursing roles across the UK, including time at Gibraltar. For him, it was a home that already had his trust and felt familiar, and when the time came, Gibraltar felt like the right place for him to return to.

Warren was born in 1953 in Monmouthshire. Brought up in Llanellen on a family farm, he worked alongside his father with sheep and cattle. It was a rural, outdoor upbringing, and he later took on work at a nearby turkey farm. Farming wasn’t just work; it was part of who he was. He shares about this time, ‘I was a real country boy and farmer’s son.’

At 16, he joined the Royal Regiment of Wales, common for young men at the time, spending around 12 months with the regiment and travelling across the UK. The army life wasn’t for him however, and he left to return home.

Not long after, a different path opened up closer to home when an advert in the Abergavenny Chronicle for nursing roles in mental health caught his mother’s attention. Having worked as a nurse herself, she encouraged him to apply, saying, ‘go along, give it a go.’ He was successful and got a post, marking the early beginnings of what would become a long career in nursing.

Warren began his training at the well known Pen-y-Fal Hospital in Abergavenny, and he later continued his training at Prince Charles Hospital, becoming a Registered General Nurse (RGN) and Registered Nurse for Mental Handicap (RNMH).

Reflecting on his work, he spoke about how much it meant to get things right for someone. Seeing a person supported and cared for in the way they deserved, and the difference that made to their life, was the part of the role he found most rewarding.

Over the years, his career took him further afield. He relocated to Hampshire, where he took on an additional role as an inspector. One inspection in particular stayed with him. Asked to review a home, he found serious failings, including medication being stored on the floor rather than safely organised. It was challenging work, but necessary, and he was recognised for handling it properly by the head inspector at the time, Nick Skinner. He also lived in Surrey for a time, working in a large nursing home, before eventually returning to Monmouth.

Back in familiar surroundings, Warren took on agency work, enjoying the variation and the chance to work across different settings. It was shortly after this that he worked as a senior nurse at Gibraltar.

During that time, he met and worked closely with Mike Cuff, a clinical lead who was new to his role at the home. Mike is still part of the team today as a clinical lead and a member of the clinical governance team and will celebrate 15 years at Gibraltar this October.

Reflecting on their time working together, Mike shared, ‘Warren just took things in his stride. He was calm and steady, and nothing seemed to faze him. The family members really liked him, and he got on well with everyone. That was just who he was.’

Towards the end of his working life, Warren wanted a change and a returned to his farming roots. Although years had passed, the routine and familiarity of farm work hadn’t left him. Farming had always been part of his life, something he had continued alongside his nursing career whenever he could.

When his health later began to change, the decision about where to live was clear to him. Gibraltar was close to home, just down the road, and more importantly, it was somewhere he already understood. He knew people that worked there, the environment, and what life looked like. So, he moved into the home in 2023.

Mike shared of Warren’s decision, ‘He said, the only place I’m going is Gibraltar. They’ll look after me and Mike is there.’

Today, Warren prefers a quieter routine. He is a private man, most comfortable in his own space, often spending time in his bedroom. A choice understood and respected by those around him.

The culture at Gibraltar Nursing Home means that the door is always open. It’s a place where relationships are built over time, between the team, the people who live here and those who visit. Familiar faces come and go, often stopping by for a chat or a cup of tea, always met with the same warm welcome. There’s a shared understanding that this is more than a place to stay, it’s a home, and once you’ve been part of it, that feeling of home doesn’t go away.

Staff at Gibraltar Nursing Home would like to thank Warren for the years he spent working in nursing, both within the home and beyond. His career reflects the kind of steady, consistent work that often goes unnoticed, but makes a lasting difference to the people it has supported along the way.

Gibraltar Nursing Home is a residential and nursing home in Monmouthshire offering 24-hour support in a homely environment visit. To find out more, visit https://www.gibraltarnursinghome.com/