On Saturday 22nd June at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London provided a spectacular backdrop for the national finals of the Great British Home Care Awards where the fourteen category winners were announced.
The Great British Home Care Awards, hosted by Ceretas are the national finals from the series of nine regional Great British Care Awards in Autumn 2012. 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), the National Skills Academy for Social Care, Ceretas, local authority support and commercial organisations are also supporting the awards.
There were a total of fourteen award 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, and 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 TV presenter and care advocate Fiona Phillips and the evening concluded with music from a live band and dancing into the night.
The awards support a chosen charity, The Care Professionals Benevolent Fund, the registered charity for the care sector that support current, former and retired care professionals by providing assistance to relieve financial hardship or sickness and also provide advice and guidance on the availability of state support and links with debt counsellors.
Lisa Carr, Director of the Great British Care Awards said,
“This is just the fourth 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
Radis Group, West Midlands
“Radis Group demonstrated a real commitment to providing high quality personalised care that supported people to live the lives they wanted too. At the heart of the business was a clear set of values which underpinned their approach to making a positive difference to the lives of the people they worked with and in supporting their staff to go the extra mile.The judges were impressed by the evidence that each person using Radis groups services is treated as an individual and the service tailored to their needs. This is a big group that has put meeting the customer’s needs at its heart”
The Home Care Worker Award
Rupert Campbell, Bluebird Care, Yorkshire and Humberside
“Rupert showed great communication and always focuses on the individual receiving support. He recognises that care work is challenging as social care is forever changing and that as a care worker, you need to be able to adapt with these changes and use them to implement and deliver quality care”
The Care Newcomer Award
Amie Weston, Sevacare, South East
“The judges were impressed by Amie’s diligent and caring approach to all aspects of her role. We would certainly want Amy to look after us”
The Home Care Registered Manager Award
Donna Stinton, Enara, South East
“Donna really impressed the panel; working her way up from a frontline care worker to now managing two branches. She showed the judges how important it is to motivate and inspire”
The Dignity in Care Award
Veronica Bell, Nottinghamshire County Council, East Midlands
“The judges could clearly understand how Veronica not only promotes dignity as hope to each individual she connects with, but also through a team approach to promote and support fundamental culture change throughout her organisation”
The Dementia Carer Award
Jackie Rutterford, Home instead Senior Care, East of England
“The judges were impressed by Jackie’s openness and tenderness, linked with her absolute concentration on the needs and preferences of the individual with dementia. She always sees the whole person and views the task of supporting them as seeking out and using a whole range of opportunities for them. Her persistence and imagination in tailoring her support very specifically to the individual ensures very special care”
The Care Team Award
Alex Rowley, Kelly Greenaway & Michelle Johnson, Mobile Care Services, West Midlands
“There is a natural culture that resonates thorough Mobile Care Services as professionalism, exceptional standards and genuine team work. This was a very difficult category to judge but Mobile Care Services shone through as a worthy winner”
The Care Trainer Award
Darryl Hand, Direct Health, East Midlands
“Through his passion for training and vision for excellence, Darryl is committed to changing the way people think about training within the company. Removing fears, he aims to challenge the negative perceptions of social care in the wider community”
The Care Innovator Award
David Young, Advance Support, East Midlands
“David’s care and compassion for the wellbeing of others is amazing. Over seven years he has developed a system of peer reviews where service users with learning disabilities have been gainfully employed to improve the lives of other services users. Fantastic work David!”
The Frontline Leaders Award
Bob Leeves, Outreach 3 Way, East of England
“Bob showed an incredible devotion, coupled with a clear vision of the impact that preventative services can have. In combining sport with health and social care for people with learning disabilities, he has created a model for future service provision. Exciting!!”
The Home Care Co-ordinator Award
Michaela Heaton, Belong, CLS Care Services, North West
“Inspired by having a close family member suffering from dementia, Michaela has determined to make a difference in the lives of the service users for whom she has responsibility and this she has achieved through dedication and innovation”
The Putting People First Award
Jane Bell, Judy Cropper & Helen Duff, Shared Lives South West
“Real passion-centred care delivered by exception people in a unique innovative model”
The Unpaid Carers Award
Brenda Prentice, South West
“When things don’t go well with your care or the care of a loved one, it’s important to know about your legal rights, but finding expert help can be difficult. Brenda has worked tirelessly to set up a charity in Somerset to help families understand about the law and help them seek legal remedy”
The Outstanding Contribution Award
Glenda Adey, Direct Health, East Midlands
“Glenda has worked in the health and social care sector for over 40 years. During this time Glenda has worked in both residential and home care as well as been the primary carer for both her parents who suffered from dementia. Glenda lives and breathes social care and her passion and dedication for the sector is inspirational”