On Friday 16th March, 900 of the very best in social care attended a glittering awards ceremony at Birmingham’s ICC, for the national finals of the Great British Care Awards, where the national category winners were announced by presenter Jeremy Vine.

The Great British Care Home Awards, hosted by Care England, brought together the winners from the nine regional Great British Care Awards held in Autumn 2017. Winners from each region were invited to compete once again to become the national champions.

Sector support includes the Department of Health, The National Care Forum, Alzheimer’s Society, The Voluntary Organisations Disability Group (VODG) and the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) as well as commercial organisations.

There are a total of twenty one award categories available for nomination, which represent all areas of the care sector.  These range from  older people or specialist services,  frontline staff such as care workers and care managers to people who have made an impact in other ways such as training, and specialist care in areas such as dementia and innovation.

Professor Martin Green OBE, chief executive of Care England said,

“Social care work is one of the most difficult, and at the same time, one of the most spiritually rewarding careers. People who work in social care, make a huge difference to the lives of the people they work with, and are some of society’s unsung heroes.

The Great British Care Awards looks to redress the lack of recognition that people who work in social care receive, and is recognising and rewarding the very best in the social care workforce,  giving them praise and respect for the transformational work that they do every day.”

The national winners of the Great British Care Awards 2018, together with the judge’s comments, are detailed below:

 The Care Employer Award

Next Stage, Bolton

Next Stage displayed an exceptional commitment to its employees which made it stand out from a very strong field.

Delivering care and care support services, the company’s staff has doubled in 12 months and it has placed their well-being at the heart of its ethos. Recognising that care workers often suffer financial hardship it offers full time contracts and not zero hour contracts, allowing people to work on a balanced hours basis. It demonstrated an understanding of the challenges that care staff meet on a daily basis, also helping them on a personal level to resolve problems such as, bad debts and providing an employee loan scheme, which is supported by counselling to resolve or absolve problems.

Quality is at the heart of all that it does in putting the staff first – offering a staff engagement programme; a dedicated staff Welfare Officer; healthy dietary advice; and investing significantly in training, offering a clear progression ladder for all staff with the objective of becoming a beacon as an employer in the care sector.

The Managing Director even personally offers legal counselling and support to his staff – which is another reason why 75% of its staff would recommend the organisation to their friends.

 

The Care Home Worker Award

Gill Clements, Westholme Residential, Winchester

Gill’s proactive approach to person centred care shines through.  She is dedicated to improving the lives of the residents and has infectious enthusiasm and passion.  Her philosophy is to allow people to be who they have been.  An inspirational care home worker.

 

The Home Care Worker Award

Sharon Finney, Direct Health, Newcastle

After caring for her Mum and Dad Sharon started her career in care and goes beyond her call of duty.  Sharon walks 10 miles a day from 7 am to 11 pm, 5 days a week, to meet the needs of her clients in all weather conditions.  An inspirational home care worker!

 

The Care Home Newcomer Award

Fouad Saad, Athena Healthcare Group, Southport

Drawing on personal experience in life Fouad found the courage to explore a career in care.  Clearly a motivated individual with passion and enthusiasm to deliver the very best care.  Fouad likes to give 110% and is always happy to seek help and advice and is confident when dealing with colleagues and families.

 

The Home Care Newcomer

Jack Homer, Aspire Community Benefit Society, Leeds

Jack is an inspiring young man who is very passionate about impacting people’s lives.  He has a keen interest in learning and acquiring additional skills like sign language in order to communicate better.  He has a great understanding of person centred care.  He is a keen musician and has introduced a music group taking the time to learn and play individual music preferences.  With a passionate interest in mental health Jack has a very bright and rewarding future.

 

The Care Home Registered Manager Award

Elsie McLennan, Holmes Care Group, Inverclyde

Elise has strived to turn around her care home which initially had problems, to a care home which has a good rating and is respected in the community. She and her team continuously raise money and have successfully managed to take their residents on holidays and short breaks.  One resident said, “I have never been on holiday in my life until I came here”.  A worthy winner.

 

The Home Care Registered Manager Award

Simon Rowland, Caremark Tunbridge Wells

Simon has created a team and culture in 18 months.  His service has been recognised has Outstanding by the CQC.  This is due largely to Simon’s sincere and caring personal manner in both clients and staff.  He leads by example and is an outstanding role model to all in the care industry.

 

The Care Home Cook/Chef Award

Chloe Thorley, Belong, Macclesfield

Such confidence and determination, Chloe was a pleasure to meet.  From seeing her work place being built and deciding that is where she wanted to work, Chloe has gone on to excel in her job and now brings her initiatives into their new venture.

 

The Dignity in Care Award

Sophie Feurtado, Exemplar, Yorkshire & Humber

Sophie turned the organisation thinking around in a short time through her inspirational approach, systematically eradicated the them and us culture. She got the Board on side to make changes.  She has helped the confidence of service users by setting up Blogs, getting them involved in recruiting, receiving guests to the home and inductions.

 

The Dementia Carer Award

Suzanne Warnes, Independence Matters CIC, Dereham, Norfolk

Suzanne shows a great understanding of how to build a connection with a person with dementia.  Through her care people living with dementia are enabled to live their lives to the full and take charge of their future.  Suzanne is also inspiring the next generation of carers and supporting the people affected by dementia in the community.

 

The Care Home Team Award

Asra House Residential Care Home Team, Sanctuary Care, Worcester

An inclusive service which is very community and family focused.  They meet the needs of a diverse culture group, recognising and celebrating differences.  The team have a strong infrastructure to meet individual requirement and are constantly striving to improve.  The team are innovative in their work with people living with dementia and older people whose cultural heritage continues to be acknowledged and celebrated.

 

The Home Care Team Award

The Corinium Care Team, Corinium Care Ltd

This unique tam provide both innovation and creative matching of individuals to ensure people can live independently at home.  Their passion and commitment to quality recruitment globally, and also their support to staff development, made them the winning team.

 

The Care Home Activity Organiser Award

Katie Simmonds, Nicholas James Care Homes, Residential Community Alexander House, Dover, Kent

Katie really impressed us with her level of maturity, passion and real insight into what the role entailed, along with her commitment to delivering. Frequently going above and beyond to find new ways to enrich the lives of the service users.  Judges were particularly impressed with the way that she tried to involve residents in the wider community.

 

The Ancillary Worker Award

Rita Kirby, Barchester Healthcare, Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire

Rita is simply a naturally caring individual.  Her interest and passion for simply caring shines through. Having got most of her family members involved, she clearly demonstrates Care everywhere she goes.  A deserving winner amongst other great nominees!

 

The Care Trainer Award

Gemma Tonkinsmith, Hilton Nursing Partners, Ashford, Kent

The judges felt that she was very passionate about developing individuals at every level.  She is bringing her own innovations with training and development to the company and is the future of training.  Her philosophy is that training isn’t just the remit of the training department.  She is an ambassador for her company and has helped the achieve Outstanding in only a year.

 

The Care Innovator Award

Ami Penfold, Acorn Court Care Home, Redhill, Surrey

Ami demonstrated a passion and experience for care far greater than her years. As a Lifestyle Coordinator she started taking her 4 week old daughter Elsie into the care home and from this developed “Little Acorns” – weekly classes for pre-reception age children, in which residents could take part. The effect was palpable, with one resident, who had not uttered more than 3 words at a time after 7 years in care, saying “what a beautiful little baby” whilst those with dementia showed improvement and others started to eat better.  There is now a passion and drive to replicate this success across many homes and hopefully this award will help in some small way to publicise this success in delivering innovative person-centred care to young and old alike.

 

The Care Home Frontline Leaders Award

Andy Raikes, Hesley Group – Fullerton House School, Denaby

Andy is selfless in his leadership style completely driven by passion for the children in his care.  His job doesn’t feel like a job and leading by example his staff follow his role.  He is always looking for the positives.

 

The Home Care Frontline Leaders Award

Alison Soanes, Focus Care, Peterborough

Alison’s passion for her role shoe through.  You can tell straight away that care for people in need is her lifestyle not a job.  Alison’s desire for real outcomes drives continuous improvement.  She leads by example and is a real inspiration.

 

The Home Care Co-ordinator Award

Mark Butler, Autumn Years Care, Thame, Oxfordshire

Under Mark’s co-ordination the company pride themselves in being smile creators. Mark has developed systems that ensures all of the clients are safe and receive high quality care but he has also created an environment where staff love to work.  Mark is a shining star in the care sector, developing innovative ways or working that can help us all.  A fantastic worthy winner!

 

The Care Assessor/Care Planner Award

Hannah Kessock-Philip, Venture People, Worthing, West Sussex

Hannah is passionate about her role.  She is extremely focused in ensuring that the assessments she produces meet all of her clients’ needs and often thinks outside of the box. This enhances the clients’ lives and this impacts on their wellbeing.  Hannah is a well deserved winner.

 

The Putting People First/Personalisation Award

Bridge House Care Team, Abingdon, Oxfordshire

The team have demonstrated innovation by truly involving family members in all activities in the home.  They make residents feel special by making their wishes come true.  They have become involved in a number of initiatives to promote excellent practice.

 

The Good Nurse Award

Emily Carey, Elizabeth Finn Homes, London

Emily is a passionate and caring nurse who wants to make a difference, not only in her own home but the wider community.  Emily is raising the profile of working and making a career within the care home sector.  Not only does Emily encourage others to grow, she has a history of supporting and making improvements in other homes for the benefit of people living in care homes.

 

The Palliative Care/End of Life Award

Scott Powell, Nurtured Care, Gateshead

We were impressed by Scott’s calm professionalism, his wide subject knowledge and his reassuring demeanour.  He works to extend his learning and knowledge with a focus on ensuring he can always give his best.  Even when working alone in challenging situations, Scott always strives to put the needs of the individual at the heart of everything he does, providing the utmost respect when people are at their most fearful.

 

The Unpaid Carers Award

Albert Dooley, Nottingham

Albert’s wife came to Morton Grange from another care home in May 2013, when her needs grew more complex. Despite being 92 years old, Albert, (who still drives) visits her twice a day. Before she went into care, he looked after her full-time at home which was no small undertaking.

Albert volunteers for Morton Grange as a bingo caller, running weekly session. He also enjoys helping residents in other activities with the utmost patience and kindness. He regularly volunteers to go out on trips assisting and supporting his wife and others.  His kindness and enthusiasm for life is infectious and he is great company.

He has made many friends amongst staff, residents and relatives. He will often give advice and encouragement or simply lend an ear.  He even waits to do his daily newspaper crossword with the residents.

The staff at Morton Grange has great respect for this wonderful gentleman, who clearly loves his wife with all of his heart.

 

The Outstanding Contribution to Social Care Award

Derek Law MBE, Coastline Housing, Redruth, Cornwall

Derek Law MBE has an impressive 40 year career in social care with trusts and local authority across the country.  These include Southampton City Council, the Royal Borough of Greenwich, Derbyshire, Bedfordshire, Cornwall County Councils

One of Derek’s greatest successes was during his 7 years as Director at North Yorkshire Adult Services.  During Derek’s leadership he achieved, and sustained, an excellent performance from the regulator during very challenging times.

All this happened in an area which was officially defined as a Good place to grow old by the Audit Commission. At the time, it was one of only two places in the country labelled as such, and this was largely due to the services and strategies delivered by Derek in partnership with the voluntary and independent sectors.

During this period North Yorkshire also gained a National reputation and recognition for Derek’s visionary commissioning and modernisation strategy. Derek was pioneering in an innovative use of telecare and extra care and, through effective partnership working, preventative and market development strategies.

 

 

 

For more information on The Great British Care Awards please visit our web site at www.care-awards.co.uk

 

Lets celebrate social care and help it get the recognition it deserves

 

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

 

  • The Great British Care Awards are a series of regional and national awards throughout the UK

 

  • Dates and locations for 2018 regional awards can be found at www.care-awards.co.uk

 

 

Derek Law MBE has an impressive 40 year career in social care with trusts and local authority across the country. These include Southampton City Council, the Royal Borough of Greenwich, Derbyshire, Bedfordshire, Cornwall County Councils
One of Derek’s greatest successes was during his 7 years as Director at North Yorkshire Adult Services. During Derek’s leadership he achieved, and sustained, an excellent performance from the regulator during very challenging times.
All this happened in an area which was officially defined as a Good place to grow old by the Audit Commission. At the time, it was one of only two places in the country labelled as such, and this was largely due to the services and strategies delivered by Derek in partnership with the voluntary and independent sectors.
During this period North Yorkshire also gained a National reputation and recognition for Derek’s visionary commissioning and modernisation strategy. Derek was pioneering in an innovative use of telecare and extra care and, through effective partnership working, preventative and market development strategies.