On Saturday 9th October the National Motorcycle Museum in Solihull provided a spectacular backdrop for the finals of the second Great West Midlands Care Awards, where the seventeen category winners were announced.
The Great West Midlands Care Awards, supported by the Department of Health and HET Software, are part of the Great British Care Awards, a series of regional awards which celebrates excellence in social care and pay tribute to those who work in the sector throughout England. The awards are all inclusive, bringing together the statutory, independent and voluntary sectors, as well as unpaid carers; promoting joint working.
The Great West Midlands Care Awards have received nominations and support from all corners of the sector. Sector support includes the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), Skills for Care, Ceretas and the English Community Care Association. Local Authority support and commercial organisations are also supporting the awards. Caring UK magazine is the media partner.
There were a total of seventenn awards categories available for nomination, 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 demntia and innovation.
Nominations came in from all corners of the sector and the region and successful candidates invited for interview for infront of a panel of sector experts. The gala award evening started in style with a champagne reception, followed by a superb gourmet dinner and the awards presentation with Des Coleman from BBC The One Show fame.
Winners from the awards will be invited to attend the national finals for either the home care or care home sector which will take place in May and June 2011 at the prestigious Royal Courts of Justice in London.
The awards support a chosen charity, The Maggie’s Centre, which has sites across the country supporting people who lives have been impacted upon by cancer.
In addition an auction for the Care Professionals Benevolent Fund was held – the prize, a jeroboam of French rose wine The Care Professionals Benevolent Fund is the registered charity for the Care Sector and are here to support current, former and retired care professionals, by providing assistance to relieve financial hardship or sickness. £470 was raised and the winner of the auction was Kieran Green and Beverley Watts from Wiltshire Farm Foods.
Lisa Carr, Director of the Great British Care Awards said,
“We are delighted to be staging the Great West Midlands Care Awards for the second time. The care awards are goning from strength to strength with this year’s regional events. The support from sector partners has been overwhelming and the quality and sheer nominations has been astounding.
These awards recognise and pay tribute to the efforts and dedication of all those who work tirelessly to ensure that so many people are able to live independent lives in their own home. They are the perfect showcase to reflect on best practice in the social care sector. A sector where people truly dedicate themselves to their work and take pride in their achievements.
The people of the West Midlands are incredibly fortunate to have such dedicated people caring for the vulnerable and elderly members of their communities. Congratulations to everyone this evening – everyone here is a winner!”
The winners of the Great West Midlands Care Awards, together with the judges comments are detailed below:
Care Employer Award (More than 250 Employees)
Helping Hands at Home – Alcester – Warwickshire
Infectious enthusiasm from Helping Hands team was underpinned by fantastic examples of creative ways they engage their carers, maintaining a supportive family feel to their growing commercially thriving business.
The Care Employer Award( Less than 250 Employees)
Martin & Wendy Beesley – All Care Shropshire – Pontesbury – Shrewsbury
Demonstrated a warm and friendly approach but with a real sense of clear organisation an business process. Particularly impressed with how they go beyond core staff training approached with additional specialist knowledge and user led approach to personalisation.
The Care Home Worker Award
Heather Seabury – English Care Ltd – Browbrook – Shrewsbury
Very hard choice. All shortlisted candidates were truely worthy winners. However, Heather shone out for her passion, commitment and her work and caring nature, who goes beyond the extra mile in caring for her clients.
The Home Care Worker Award
Kelly Bywater – Black Country Housing Group – Rowley Regis – West Midlands
Despite her young years Kelly impressed the judges with her passion for her work and commitment to the older people she supports. She exhibited a level of energy and motivation to supporting the people she works with but also presented as calm and composed, whatever the challenge. She really enjoys her work and we were struck by her comment that ‘every day is like a history lesson’!
The Care Newcomer Award
Callum Fowler – Housing 21 – Aldridge – Walsall
Passionate and committed young man who has quickly developed an understanding of care. Caring has changed his life for the better. We were particularly impressed that Callum wanted to influence change for older people in his borough.
The Care Home Registered Manager Award
Karen Cooper – Dukeries Healthcare – Castle Vale – Birmingham
Karen embraces challenges and despite personal tragedies has brought her care home up to a 3 start rating 2yrs running. Her drive and passion shines through. Her job is her life and her residents and staff are her family.
The Home Care Registered Manager Award
Carol Law – Crossroads Care – Kingswinford, West Midlands
Carol’s passion, drive and people skills were all examples why the judges felt she deserved to win this category, Carol said – ‘I want to bang the drum for choice and dignity’.
The Nutrition & Hydration Award
Bowbrook House – English Care – Shrewsbury – Shropshire
Jim showed a clear commitment to fresh produce and nutrition involving residents in choice and even growing much of their own vegetables. His passion, enthusiasm and understanding made him a clear winner.
The Dignity in Care Award
Sandra Daniels – Brighton House – Newcastle-under-Lyme – Staffordshire
Impressed that dignity is being actively reflected in all the work of the applicants, we were particularly impressed with the dedicated approach of the winner, weaving dignity into elderly care.
The Dementia Carer Award
Sheila Heath – DH Homecare – Crewe – West Midlands
Sheila showed a real passion for caring for those with dementia, she demonstrated patience, understanding and good sense of humour. To sum this up Sheila quoted ‘my job gives me more than it gives the services users’.
The Care Team Award
Darwin Domiciliary Carers – Barchester Healthcare – Hudley – Telford
The judges awarded this category to a team dealing inspirationally with people who have very demanding & difficult behaviours. They are providing very personal care directed to the needs of the individual & centred on the very best of practice, working as a complete team in all aspects of their service provision.They are indeed a shining example of ‘the sum of the parts is greater than the whole!
The Activity Organiser Award
Jarrod Mason – The Woodlands – Studley – Warwickshire
A real understanding of his residents as individuals shone through from Jarrod. He demonstrated the central role of person-centred activity in enhancing well-being and quality of life for his residents.
The Ancillary Worker Award
Nicola Burton – BUPA – Bromsgrove – Worcestershire
Nicola was passionate about everything she did with some great examples of catering and involving residents, respecting where they had come from, recognising the need for variety, involvement, respect and listening.
The Care Trainer Award
Tracy Kirton & Fiona Burton – Stoke on Trent City Council – Stoke-on-Trent
The enthusiasm and holistic approach keeping the service user at the heart of the training ensured that all from firemen to careworkers had the skills to deliver high quality care.
The Care Innovator Award
Samantha Marriott – Dignus Healthcare – Birmingham
A truly inspirational person – Sam’s passion, dedication and commitment to developing this much needed service was quite awe-inspiring – a clear winner!
The Putting People First Award – Tipton – West Midlands
Changing our Lives Advocacy Team
Changing Lives have really embraced all of putting people first developing a strong partnership that has allowed a shift of power from the professional to the person.
The Outstanding Contribution to Social Care Award
Glenys Robinson, Staffordshire County Council – Leek – Staffordshire
Hard working Glenys Robinson MBE is a 69 year old Social Care Assessor with a difference! What sets Glenys apart is her ability to inspire others through her dedication and enthusiasm. At an age when most people are settling into retirement, Glenys provides an outstanding service. Passionate about her work, Glenys explores every possible opportunity to deliver good quality care and support.
A hands on worker, Glenys spends hours shivering outdoors, giving data links to people and arranging deliveries to private and voluntary care agencies. Glenys cares about what she does and is passionate about raising the quality of services. If there is a problem she sorts it out; if there is a family in crisis she supports them through it. Glenys sets herself high standards to achieve the best outcomes for people taking on a huge challenge to secure funding and work with providers to secure specialised day care for someone with specific religious needs.
Glenys works in an extremely rural area and in the winter months it can be difficult to get around. During the snowy winter months she walked to work and honoured all of her appointments, visiting clients on foot. We asked Glenys for the secret of her ongoing passion for the job,
‘I love what I do and feel so proud to be part of my team; they are great people. I feel privileged knowing that what I do can help to improve people’s lives. It’s great when a family member tells me that I have given them their life back. I am honoured to be able to assist families in time of crisis.’
Glenys was awarded an MBE in 2000 for Services to the Local Community.