Winners of the Great London Care Awards 2010 announced (Part 1)

On Thursday 14th October the Emirates Stadium in London, provided a spectacular backdrop for the finals of the inaugural Great London Care Awards, where the fourteen category winners were announced.

The Great London 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 London 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 fourteen 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 dementia 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 Mark Moraghan from Holby City fame and dancing into the night.

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.

Lisa Carr, Director of the Great British Care Awards said,

“We are delighted to be staging the Great London Care Awards for the very first 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 London 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 London Care Awards, together with the judges comments are detailed below:

The Care Employer Award Dennis Mawadzi – Renaissance Personnel Ltd –Kentish Town - London Dennis blew us all away with his passion, drive and enthusiasm. We were also impressed with his high standards when recruiting and training staff and commitment to utilise local resources.

The Care Home Worker Award Patricia Bacon – Ashbrook Court Care Home – Stewardstone - London Patricia is an extremely committed carer, loves her work and enjoys putting a smail on the residents faces. She demonstrates the positive impact training makes to the lives of her clients.

The Home Care Worker Award Sophie Roberts – Enara Group – Kentish Town - London The judges felt that Sophie had the perfect mix of professionalism and empathy coupled with her ability to understand the individual needs of the people she works with – A credit to the care profession.

The Care Newcomer Award Sumer Kumar Paul, Greensleeves Homes Trust – Rita Road - London Sumar’s obvious pleasure at working in the care sector is matched by his passion, empathy and smile! He always strives for excellence and has clear career goals.

The Care Home Registered Manager Award Deborah Miller – Central London Community Health Care – Regency Street - London Candidates were of a high standard. All had strengths but the unanimous decision of the judges was that Deborah Miller was the clear winner due to her warmth and humanity.

The Home Care Registered Manager Award Sharon Popps – Home Choice Care – Chelmsford Sharon demonstrated to the judges a significant commitment to her service users and staff. Through managing a busy service she continuously innovates new services to meet the changing world of home care.

The Care Home Nutrition & Hydration Award Alaa Mohamed - Queen Elizabeth House, Greensleeves Homes Trust – Rita Road - London The judges felt that the cooks at Greensleeves understood the daily importance of attractive, tasty, nutritious food that ‘sells itself’ through quality and presentation.

The Dignity in Care Award Grace Smith – RCHL - Ilford Uplifting experience – enjoyed meeting all the candidates who were all worthy nominations but there can only be one winner! Grace’s experience shone through and demonstrated fantastic interpersonal skills and beyond that she showed insight and understanding of the wider social issues around dignity.

The Dementia Carer Award Laura Griffiths – Managing Care - Putney Laura is a fun, lively approachable lady who has a huge amount of passion and commitment to improving the lives of her service users.