Banbury care home is shortlisted for national award

A Banbury care home is celebrating after a team member has been shortlisted for a national award. 

Francesca Cowley, Home Manager at Care UK’s Highmarket House, on North Bar Place, has been named a finalist for the manager category in the National Care Awards, thanks to her passion and commitment to making a difference within the home.

The awards are held annually to celebrate the very best people in the long-term care sector, culminating in an awards ceremony on Saturday 26^th November. The 20 categories highlight excellence within the care sector, and reward those who work tirelessly to provide consistently outstanding care.

Having worked in the care sector from a young age, Francesca has over 13 years of experience. She has a deep understanding of the needs of residents, which allows her to form strong relationships with each resident and ensure their care is tailored personally, encouraging their independence and fulfilment. 

One of Francesca’s main focuses is on unity within the home, between both team members and residents. Her approach to care means she is always visible, making herself available for anyone who needs support and letting residents know she is someone they can rely on to listen to them – whether they are sharing a recommendation for the home or just want a chat.

Since becoming Home Manager, Francesca has focused on boosting and maintaining strong morale within the home. Ensuring relatives and residents remain close and have ample opportunities to spend quality time together is something Francesca has focused on greatly, even setting up a family group for relatives of residents living with dementia. The group enables relatives to feel more confident when visiting their loved ones, and ensures they are involved in care plans allowing unique and personal care.

Commenting on her nomination, Francesca said: “I was thrilled to be nominated for the award and was incredibly excited to hear that I’ve been listed as a finalist. I love my job and I just want to help make a difference – it’s so important to me that everyone here at Highmarket House feels valued and part of the wonderful, family community we have created.”

A relative of a resident at Highmarket House, added: “As a family, we were very happy when Francesca was appointed the manager of Highmarket House. We like the way that her previously roles in the home help her to draw on her personal hands-on experiences to understand and support the team and residents alike. It is great that there are now regular relative meetings and emails to keep us informed of current and future plans for the home and Francesca 's open door policy for team members and relatives shows that she really cares.”

Highmarket House is a state-of-the-art care home which provides full-time residential, dementia, nursing and short-term respite care. The home, which features 73 en-suite bedrooms, has been designed to enable its residents to live active and fulfilled lives, while also promoting independence.

The care home incorporates space for hobby and leisure activities and includes its own cinema, hairdressing salon and café.

For more information on Highmarket House, please contact Customer Relations Manager, Daniel Worley on daniel.worley@careuk.com or call 01295 297664.    

For more general information, visit careuk.com/highmarket-house