MID-SIZE LARGE GROUP/15 HOMES
Rachel Beckett
Executive Chairman (Care England board listing); also described as CEO by third parties, Wellburn Care Homes
Rachel Beckett is Executive Chairman of Wellburn Care Homes, a North East group of 16 homes, and sits on the Care England policy board.
BIOGRAPHY
Rachel Beckett is Executive Chairman of Wellburn Care Homes, a family-founded group of 16 care homes in Newcastle, Northumberland, Sunderland and York. Her father, Simon, built the business from scratch. She took over about 2015 and has run it since. Care England lists her as Executive Chairman and as a member of its policy board. Press coverage usually calls her chairman, and her LinkedIn profile shows both chairperson and managing director roles. Companies House shows her as a director of Wellburn Care Homes Limited since November 2014.
Before Wellburn she worked in interior design and was a director of R Interiors Ltd, a consultancy, from 2003. She applied that background to St Catherine's in Shipton, near York. She says she once considered closing the Grade II listed home. Instead Wellburn redesigned it as a specialist dementia home, which reopened on 11 June 2022 after two years, with lighting timed to the body clock and a sensory garden. In 2023 Wellburn opened The Manor at St Catherine's for people with young onset dementia, and in October 2024 it launched a second unit, The Manor at Eighton Lodge in Gateshead. The BBC featured the Gateshead unit in June 2025.
In the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic she spoke publicly about the pressure on care homes. She told the York Press in April 2020 that care homes were stretched to breaking point. In May 2020 she launched the We Care badge, sold at £2.50 with profits going to the Care Workers' Charity. She discussed the visiting debate in a LaingBuisson video interview that September.
In a Caring Times interview in October 2022 she called recruitment and retention the sector's biggest problem and described Wellburn's response, which included a beermat campaign of more than 30,000 mats and a pop-up recruitment shop in York.
About Wellburn Care Homes. Wellburn Care Homes runs 16 care homes across the North East of England, including Newcastle, Northumberland, Sunderland and York. Her father started the business and built it up from one home. See its rank and history
CAREER
Newest first, each role linked to its source
JAN 2018 – NOW
Executive Chairman (listed as Chairperson on LinkedIn) · Wellburn Care Homes NOW
CURRENT
Policy board member · Care England
MAY 2015 – NOW
Managing Director · Wellburn Care Homes NOW
NOV 2014 – NOW
Director · Wellburn Care Homes Limited NOW
2003 – JAN 2014
Director · R Interiors Ltd
ARTICLES, INTERVIEWS AND APPEARANCES
7 items, opened and checked
Jun 2025
Young-onset dementia patients 'falling through gaps in care'PROFILEBBC News
BBC report on young-onset dementia care in which she explains how needs differ from older residents at Wellburn's Gateshead unit.
Oct 2022
Your friends in the northINTERVIEWCaring Times
Question-and-answer interview on recruitment, overseas workers, infection control and the redesign of St Catherine's.
Jun 2022
York care home transforms into a dementia specialised homePROFILEYork Press
Report on the reopening of St Catherine's, with her comments and her design background.
Apr 2022
Door to a new beginning (The Wellburn Post, issue 24)INTERVIEWThe Wellburn Post
Wellburn's staff magazine interviews her about the St Catherine's redesign and how she came to lead the group.
Sep 2020
VIDEO: Simon Parker speaks to Rachel BeckettVIDEOLaingBuisson News (The Care Home Show)
Interview on keeping residents in touch with families, the visiting debate and recognising care staff.
May 2020
Care company launch own We Care badge to support workers during coronavirus pandemicPROFILEITV News
Report on the We Care badge campaign she launched, with proceeds going to the Care Workers' Charity.
Apr 2020
Care home boss: hospitals refusing to admit residents with coronavirusPROFILEYork Press
She describes the strain on Wellburn's homes in the early weeks of the pandemic.
