Supported Living in Bedfordshire

My name is Nina, and I am the branch manager for Helping Hands in Milton Keynes.
I have lived in Bedfordshire all my life and I am responsible for ensuring our customers receive high quality support to remain in their own homes safely and independently. I also work with customers and carers to provide support that it is individual to every customer, responsive to any changes in needs and is delivered with care, compassion and competence.

My role as Area Care Manager is to oversee the Central region, ensuring that new branches are set up safely and are providing a quality service to customers, and ensuring that branch care managers feel supported in their roles to do this.
I started in care 20+ years ago as a care worker whilst studying at university. This was to gain experience in a customer-facing role and because I have a passion for caring for people with various disabilities. After finishing university, I continued in the care sector as I enjoyed supporting people to live their way in their own home. I worked my way up to a care coordinator, registered care manager and then managing multiple sites as a director of services.

I took on the role at Helping Hands as head of care as their values align with me, the main one being KINDNESS. At Helping Hands, we believe in providing a quality, safe and effective service to our customers and recruiting the best talent to enable us to do this. Just like the customer, we value our staff by being flexible for them and providing them with extensive training to do their role and progress within the organisation; as head of care, this makes me proud to work here!
I champion dignity in care and believe that everyone should be treated with dignity - this is a basic human right and not an added extra.

Matt Bristow is Divisional Director at Helping Hands, bringing over 20 years of leadership experience across retail, healthcare, and care services. Having started his career as a trolley attendant at Tesco and progressing through a variety of leadership roles, including working across Europe with McKesson, Matt is passionate about developing high-performing teams that support one another to deliver outstanding care every day. Having spent the last six years with Helping Hands, he is committed to creating a culture where colleagues thrive, customers receive exceptional support, and everyone feels valued. Outside of work, Matt enjoys bodybuilding, spending time with his chocolate Labrador and partner, and embracing the discipline, resilience, and teamwork that underpin both his professional and personal life.