On Saturday 23rd May the Grosvenor House Hotel, London provided a spectacular backdrop for the national finals of the Great British Home Care Awards where the sixteen category winners were announced.
The Great British Home Care Awards, hosted by Ceretas and supported by h.e.t. software are the national finals from the series of nine regional Great British Care Awards in Autumn 2011. Winners from each region were invited to compete once again to become the national champions.
Sector support includes the Department of Health, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), Carers UK, National Skills Academy for Social Care and Ceretas. Local Authority support and commercial organisations are also supporting the awards.
There were a total of sixteen awards categories, which represent all areas of the care sector,whether it be older people or specialist services and from frontline staff such as care workers and care managers to people who have made an impact in other ways such as training, specialist care in areas such as dementia and innovation.
Thegala awards evening started in style with a champagne reception, followed by a superb gourmet dinner with some surprise entertainment throughout. The awards were presented by Loose Women host Jane McDonald and the evening concluded with music from a live band and dancing into the night.
In addition the Care Professionals Benevolent Fund was also supported with all guests given the opportunity to pledge a donation on the night. The Care Professionals Benevolent Fund is the registered charity for the Care Sector and is here to support current, former and retired care professionals, by providing assistance to relieve financial hardship or sickness.
Lisa Carr, Director of the Great British Care Awards said,
“This is just the third year we have held the national finals and we have been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm from our industry. The quality of the finalists from across the country and throughout the sector is extremely high and the judges have had the unenviable task of choosing an overall winner for each category – a true national champion. The awards offer a unique opportunity to celebrate the successes of individuals, teams and businesses throughout the UK – people who really do make a positive impact on people’s lives. During these testing economic times social care has once again suffered the impact of associated adversity – the awards are a positive way of raising motivation within our social care workforce and indeed the profile of the sector as a whole. The evening has been truly exhilarating; everyone here tonight is a winner.
The winners of the Great British Home Care Awards, together with the judge’s comments are detailed below:
The Care Employer Award (More than 250 employees)
Sevacare UK Ltd- Roger Booker, Caulene Sutherland & Zeb Aurang
Wolverhampton, West Midlands
“This team represented a cross section of staff and showed the passion of the company. The managers focused on care quality and empowered to innovate by developing local ways to support and enhance the personal care available. They also have an exceptional approach to equality governance through direct contact with core staff.”
The Care Employer Award (Less than 250 employees)
Claire Fryer- Mosiac Community Care Ltd
Preston, Lancashire, North West
“Claire has an astonishing entrepreneurial drive for someone so young, running social care businesses for the young and the old, but her passion and commitment to care is truly shown by her determination to save local services and jobs by buying struggling services and turning them into success stories”
The Ceretas Home Care Worker Award
Gillian Cree- North Yorkshire Care
Knaresborough, Yorkshire
“Gillian is extremley passionate and client focused, believeing that all clients should live the life that they want. Gillian is a wondergul ambassador for the Home Care Industry.”
The Care Newcomer Award
Kyle Senior- Direct Health
Telford, West Midlands
“Kyle displayed a very easy manner and as such is extremely personable. Kyle covers a wide client group and demonstrated a clear knowledge and understanding of all specialisms; he clearly makes a difference to all he works with.”
The Home Care Registered Manager Award
Marie Lythgoe- Direct Health
Preston, Lancashire, North West
“Marie’s professional approach was fostered through her care experience particularly in the NHS. This stood her in good stead to help successfully transform two branches simultaneously and ultimately improve the service users’ journey.”
The Dignity in Care Award
Helena Adjeke- Home Instead Senior Care
Leicester, East Midlands
“Helena demonstrated a passion and clear understanding of what “dignity in care” is. She is very enthusiastic, clearly adores her job and shows a commitment to both the staff and service users.”
The Dementia Carer Award
Kerry Ann Lees- Do Care Ltd
Stroud, Gloucestershire, South West
“She is a fantastic ambassador with the ambition to develop the role of domicillary care. Passionate, full of ideas and determined to develop ideas in training and technology to improve the understanding and support to people with dementia.”
The Care Team Award
Paul Smith, Sean Clarke & Carl Lee- Helping Hands Community Care
Northumberland, North East
“The representatives showed genuine team spirit, refering to themselves as a family. The effectiveness of their approach is evidenced in the transformation of the life of the young man for which they provide 24/7 support.”
The Home Care Co-ordinator Award
Ann Nelson- Direct Health
Hessle, East Yorkshire
“Ann is passionate about caring and supporting her staff. She has initiated add on services to enhance the lives of her service users and her passion for palliative care is particulary powerful; a real professional!”
The Putting People First Award
Simon Daglish, Lynsey Drew & Kevin Hudson– Community Integrated Care
Newton Aycliffe, North East
“The Cheviot Gardens Staff Team “wowed” the panel with their understanding and knowledge of ‘putting people first’. Their person-centred care approach has developed and responded to how the service user has developed, ensuring that support is flexible and built on trust.”
The Care Trainer Award
Nicola Whitworth- Somerset Care At Home
Minehead, South West
“Nicola has a real person-centred approach to training; encouraging each individual to take responsibility of their own development, through peer learning cycles. The judges were extremely impressed by Nicola’s delivery of the “employability scheme” with the local job centre, to attract new staff into our sector. Well done Nicola!”
The Care Innovator Award
John Osborne- Direct Health
Nottingham, East Midlands
“John had made the project his mission and made it happen in a short space of time. The project is truly innovative both locally and nationally. It is inspirational and will genuinely benefit people with dementia and their carers’.”
The Frontline Leader Award
Dan McSherry – The Together Trust
Chelmsford, Essex, North West
“Dan’s passion for providing a good quality service to the people he supports was evident in his responses to his questions, he recognised the valuable contribution of his staff team.”
The Housing With Care Award
Darren Kidger-Preston & Chris Betts- Waltham House Extra Care Scheme
Derbyshire, East Midlands
“They impressed us with their real enthusiasm and masses of ideas and plans for the Housing with Care ethos and philosophy. The enjoyment and commitment they have for the development of relationships by the tenants and services with and for the wider community is exciting and outstanding”
The Unpaid Carer’s Award
Margaret Baker
Barnsley, Yorkshire
“Margaret goes beyond the extra mile: always ready to listen to carers; building links with carers groups. Her quiet but determined approach influences stakeholders who can deliver change for carers.”
The Outstanding Contribution to Social Care Award
Gary Fitzgerald- Action on Elder Abuse
London
“Gary FitzGerald has worked for over 20 years within the social care sector. As chief executive of Action on Elder Abuse, Gary leads a crusade to eradicate a problem that shames this country. Mistreatment of our older people is unacceptable and Gary fights hard and passionately to stamp it out. With more than 30 years in social care – including almost a decade as chief executive of Action on Elder Abuse. Gary is an inspirational leader and a true catalyst for change within the care of older people and has truly made an outstanding contribution to social care.”