Bury army nurse joins care home to help residents with dementia

Natasha Eardley-Dutton, who lives in Bury, has become the first dedicated admiral nurse at Broughton House Veteran Care Village amid increasing demand for dementia care provision.

While working in the NHS as a mental health nurse, she served as a reservist with the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps from 2015 until 2022, attached to the 207 (Manchester) Field Hospital unit.

During her service, Natasha was deployed to America on a joint training mission with the US Army, and to Kenya on humanitarian missions and to teach the country’s defence forces in battlefield trauma.

Since 2022, Natasha has volunteered in Ukraine to undertake humanitarian work, helping people fleeing across the border to Poland following the Russian invasion, as well as volunteering at a hospital for wounded soldiers and delivering aid to orphanages.

Her role at Broughton House sees her responsible for the overall management of staff specialising in dementia care as well as working with residents’ families, and providing outreach assistance to veterans in the community and their loved ones through services such as drop-in support sessions, advice surgeries and consultations.

Natasha with Broughton House resident Phil McEvitt, 91, who served in the Royal Corps of Signals and after his national service worked as a police officer for 26 years (Image: Supplied)

Natasha, who worked as a nursing assistant and in HR before qualifying as a mental health nurse, said: “It feels like this job found me. I felt immediately drawn to Broughton House as soon as I heard about the role.

“Having been a mental health nurse in the army, trained in military trauma and worked in the field, I share a special common ground with veterans and a deep understanding of the needs of this community.

“I also have the armed forces contacts necessary for the outreach and networking part of the role, and will be drawing on these connections to create strong community links.

“Many members of previous generations of my family served in the armed forces.

"My paternal great-great-grandfather was in the Lancashire Fusiliers and was killed in action on the Western Front during World War One. He is buried in a military cemetery in Ypres.

“In addition, my grandmother grew up in Llandudno and knew the Gubay family well, having been raised alongside Albert and his brothers, so there is another strong connection with Broughton House and my new role.”

Natasha added: “As well as offering our in-house, tailored service regarding all aspects of dementia care and support for the whole family and staff, a large part of my role is to liaise with the wider veteran community.

“It may be that the veteran is not experiencing dementia but that they are caring for a loved one who is, and they may be struggling to manage in the community. Our mission is to provide support and help them receive the services they need.”

Broughton House’s director of care Jane Green said: “There is growing demand for dementia care and we have been responding by increasing our capacity in this area.

“We’ve been providing specialist training for our care staff, and now we have raised the bar further by recruiting an admiral nurse to support the level of complex challenges that can affect some people living with dementia.

“Natasha brings not only her expertise as a skilled nurse to this new role.

"As someone who served in the armed forces, she is a perfect match for Broughton House.

"We are very excited to see how she uses her skills and experience to enhance our dementia care service.

“She has forged really positive relationships with our residents, their families and the staff team, and has a clear plan to reach veterans in the wider community to make sure we maximise the reach and benefits of her specialist service.”

Jane said Natasha’s appointment has been made possible by a grant from the Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation, which was set up in 2016 by the late property developer and entrepreneur who founded the Kwik Save supermarket chain.

Jane added: “We’re incredibly grateful to the foundation for providing the funding for this service, which has been created in partnership with Dementia UK, which will work alongside us to help Natasha grow her clinical expertise to deliver the best relationship-centred care and to help us evaluate our services so we continually improve."

Broughton House has cared for more than 8,000 veterans since it opened its doors to the ex-service community in 1916.

It has recently been redeveloped into a complex with a 64-bed care home, including two 16-bed households dedicated to veterans with dementia, as well as independent living apartments, an array of modern facilities, a museum, gym, hairdressing and barber’s salon, and a restaurant and bar for residents.