Walk the talk
Active in the
community
Words: Sue Hughes
Pictures: The Dower House Winchester
A
hospitality background
led Philippa Thompson
to join The Dower House
Winchester. She arrived at this
residential and nursing home
fifteen months ago to take up the
post of general manager via a
somewhat roundabout route.
A former general manager at
Champneys Forest Mere, with a
career working for hotel groups, a
job at Audley retirement villages
provided her first introduction to
looking after older people who
were not family.
www.residentmagazine.co.uk
WALK THE TALK Resident Aug-Sep.indd 43
Philippa was later contacted
by a recruiter, having virtually
forgotten that she was on their
books, who advised her not
to dismiss The Dower House
Winchester ‘because it’s more
like a hotel’; on seeing it, Philippa
agreed. Her skills and the position
dovetailed as a perfect fit.
The owner, Mrs Judith Lywood,
had the foresight to develop
a planned retirement village
around Headbourne Worthy
House, her home, back in the
1970s, comprising independent
ABOVE LEFT: The Dower House
ABOVE RIGHT: Philippa Thompson.
Resident 43
15/07/2016 14:43