About Me

My name's Reece White. Born and educated in East Sussex, I started my career as a care worker in the community at the tender age of 18 - and I absolutely thrived! After a couple of years driving around house to house, I moved into a role in a residential care home closer to home in Bexhill. Here, I quickly took on leadership roles and was the CQC registered manager for 13 years. We provided care for older adults with and without dementia, but it's also here my additional training took off.

After completing the usual NVQ pathway for most care workers, completing levels 2 and 3 in health and social care, supporting more complex care needs and overseeing other staff, I also completed the Level 5 Diploma in Health and Social care Leadership. In so doing, I quickly developed a keen interest in dementia and made efforts to learn more to support our residents better.

I took on other care related training and specific dementia care certificates, but I learnt most from working directly with people. This is the most rewarding element of my work, getting to know people. Offering compassionate support and seeing results is just reinforcement to keep spending time with people. 

In my role as care home manager, I also completed various leadership training courses specific to social care and dementia. I had an opportunity to complete a Masters degree in Dementia Studies at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, not having previously completed university degree I was offered a place due to relevance in the sector, supported by professional references. I loved it, it really underpinned everything I'd learnt and opened my eyes to so much more. 

Fast forward to COVID. An awful time we shall never forget. This interrupted my studies, though, as I focussed on support in the care home. Completion of the degree happened once everything had calmed down. I ended up using the pandemic to inspire my dissertation research, exploring the impact of COVID on the provision of activities in care homes. 

Since then, I've volunteered with the local care association supporting the care home sector in key negotiations with local authorities, and supporting service development and dementia services across Sussex. I've also trained in CAIT (Communication and Interaction Training), and completed level 1 training as a Dementia Interpreter, expanding my knowledge and understanding of the dementia experience. 

I won the Innovation in Care award at the 2024 East Sussex Annual Care Awards, and I've since been back to university and completed a Business Management Top-Up degree achieving a first class honours.

Dementia and its' impact on behaviours has always been an interest to me. I've always focussed on person centred principles, using a holistic approach to managing care, aiming to reduce reliance on medication and incidence of crises. I went on a mission to change the culture of care in my service. We changed the narrative and started focussing on strengths, abilities, and possibilities, and reframed behaviour as communication.

Getting a diagnosis isn't the end of the journey for families. As dementia changes, it impacts everyone. The individual, who finds it increasingly difficult to express themself, often resorting to frustration as a result. And families, who want to do the best for the individual, but is tiring from behaviours that seem difficult, distressing, or challenging. This is often the foundation for a crisis. That's where I come in, supporting calmer moments at home, refocusing on what's happening and finding a way through, together. We're not looking for perfection, but workable solutions that safeguard everyone.