Care home resident, volunteer and employees all nominated for top national awards

Home news

Oct 12, 2012

Care teams, a resident and a volunteer at three Care UK homes could be in line for prestigious accolades after being named finalists in two national awards programmes.

Forrester Court, in Paddington, London has been named as a finalist in two categories at the National Care Awards whilst Appleby House and the Orchard day centre in Epsom, Surrey and Paisley Court in Liverpool have won through to the finals of the National Dementia Awards.

At Forrester Court, home manager Sue Ann Jones is in line for best care training co-ordinator award following a nomination by deputy manager Geraldine Sainsbury, who said: “Sue Ann passionately believes in empowering staff through training and sharing knowledge to achieve the highest possible standards. As a result of her hard work and commitment, our residents enjoy a high standard of wellbeing and our team feels valued and know they are receiving some of the best training and experience in the field.”

Joining Sue Ann at the awards finals will be resident Patrick Gardner, who is a finalist in the best resident contribution class. Patrick’s dedication to running a men’s club at the home and chairing the residents committee earned him a nomination from Sue Ann, who said: “Along with the team, he takes an active part in ensuring that residents on his unit go out a lot into the local community – for shopping, entertainment and much more.  He also liaises with the parish priest to help get the church involved in the life of the home.”

At Appleby House care home and the Orchard day centre, the team could scoop the best dementia team award following a nomination by regional director Karen Seabrook, who said: “The team are incredible. They have embraced Care UK’s experiential training, which gives a greater insight into how people with dementia experience life by having their own senses impaired. As a result, they have developed incredible levels of empathy and understanding with the residents.”

At Paisley Court in Liverpool, the devoted volunteering of a former resident’s wife earned her a nomination in the relative contribution category and a place in the final too after being nominated by home manager Allison Kennie.

Allison said: “Maureen started visiting the home when her husband joined us. She has a lovely personality and she started to bring friends from her independent living community to meet the residents.”

Allison added: “Maureen would always bring or make treats for her husband Tom and she would also always ensure there was enough for anyone who wanted one. Tom’s room became a hive of activity as residents and their relatives stopped by to visit them.”

Sadly Tom passed away, but Maureen had become committed to the home and its residents and continues to visit and take part in fundraising activities for the various charities the home supports.

The final of the National Care Awards will be held on 23 November and the winners of the National Dementia Awards will be announced at the Dementia Congress in Brighton on 31 October.