Orchard Care Homes has appointed Geoff Edwards as director of operations overseeing the group’s central region, which covers the Northwest of England and the Midlands.

Edwards became a care home assistant at the age of 16, before progressing to becoming the manager of a 34-room care home by the late 1990s. He spent seven years at Southern Cross Healthcare, rising to area manager, before progressing into regional director and operations director roles at Shaw healthcare, Priory Group and Care UK. He was most recently managing director of HC-One.

Edwards said: “I’ve always wanted to care for people and I still see myself as ‘Geoff the carer’. I wanted to come to Orchard Care Homes as I’d seen it grow and develop, and be talked about in the sector, as well as seeing the great journey they have been on.”

“I have been very impressed Orchard’s reconnect model of specialist dementia care, and the commitment to providing residents with the best quality of life at the highest level possible.”

Reconnect communities are specialist dementia communities operating at a number of Orchard’s homes offering a one-to-one personalised approach.

Edwards added: “This has always been a rewarding stimulating career for me, with a chance to make a real difference to people’s lives. I hope to get that across to new colleagues at Orchard; this is a great chance to enjoy a lifelong career and to make life better for others – and a chance to be the best at what you do.”