Managing Director of the Year Awards 2026/ 4 Dementia care is everyone’s business. From families and professionals to communities, we all have a role to play in reducing the stigma around dementia and supporting people as they seek to remain connected. Kevin Hewlett MBE takes on a great deal of responsibility when it comes to improving the lives of people facing dementia, creating Hale Place Care Solutions almost 40 years ago to support him in this aim. With Kevin being recognised here in our Managing Director Awards 2026, we spoke with him for more on his career and Hale Place itself. Too often, people living with dementia are shackled by unnecessary restrictions and over-medication, both of which limit their lives. Instead, these individuals should be allowed to experience joy, purpose, connection, opportunity, and freedom, and this is where Hale Place Care Solutions, with its specialist dementia care homes in the heart of Kent, comes in. Founded by Kevin Hewlett MBE, who also serves as its managing director, Hale Place is best known for Hale Place Farmhouse, which has been one of the most outstanding dementia care environments in the UK since the late 1980s. Small, personal, and loving, Hale Place Farmhouse has just ten beds, and has been showing for years that people battling dementia do not need to be put in large institutions to receive care. What they actually need is a real home, freedom, purpose, and people who care around them. “People living with dementia deserve far more than the current systems provide”, Kevin told us. “They deserve the opportunity to enjoy moments of real joy every single day. They deserve to live, not merely exist.” Operating according to this belief, Hale Place’s dementia care model, which has been in place now for 38 years, is delivered in small, personalised, family-style environments, like the one at Hale Place Farmhouse. This model has been recognised by the people it supports, their families, and health professionals as exemplary, and it is always rated as outstanding. Kevin and his team have received more than 20 regional and national awards over the years as a result, but what they believe really defines their work are the smiles they return to people’s faces. Whether of the family who have their loved one back or the person who is no longer defined by risk, routine, or diagnosis and is instead recognised for who they are what they love, putting these smiles on faces is what keeps Hale Place motivated to succeed. Guided by the values of kindness, honesty, inclusion, and respect, Kevin’s belief that good dementia care is about stepping closer to the person, understanding their life story, protecting their personhood, and recognising what matters to them sees him offer true person-centred care, unlike what many companies are delivering. Kevin explained: “Many providers and policymakers talk about person-centred care. Too few truly deliver it. My legacy will not feel complete until I have reached the widest possible audience and made the strongest possible case for a real person-centred model of dementia care – one that does not simply sound compassionate but actively transforms lives.” This ethos is reflected in Kevin’s approach to leadership, and he manages Hale Place with absolute clarity, deep humanity, and uncompromising standards. However, this does not mean he sees himself as standing above his people. Rather, for this dementia veteran, leadership is about standing beside his team, coaching them, instilling belief, and creating an environment where they can achieve more than they thought possible. The secret to success in providing outstanding dementia care is for everything to work in synergy. This includes the person living with dementia, their family, and the team around them. Time and again across his career, Kevin has seen the best outcomes happen because everyone has been travelling in the same direction. Families feel reassured, staff feel proud, and people with dementia feel safe, known, and cherished. Kevin’s understanding of successful care is something that has been shaped over the course of his career in this space, which began with weekend night work and has progressed from there. Kevin’s impact in this field is so great because he started on the floor, working with people during the quietest and most vulnerable hours of the day. The lessons learned here have stayed with him as he progressed throughout his career, taking on every role residential care could ever throw at him. Just some of the responsibilities Kevin has taken on over the years include cooking meals, cleaning rooms, maintaining gardens, leading HR, delivering training, developing teams, and building systems from the ground up. Kevin is also a qualified trainer, assessor, and verifier, all of which have allowed him to support and develop the careers of others, without ever losing sight of the human reality of dementia care. All of this makes Kevin an exceptional managing director, one who stands for person-centred dementia care and governs according to his lived experiences of all of the roles his team are expected to complete. Although his job has now pivoted to leading, challenging, inspiring, and protecting a culture where extraordinary staff support people living with dementia, Kevin’s early days remain a crucial part of Hale Place’s continued success. Dementia Care MD of the Year 2026: Kevin Hewlett MBE
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