SCIE media releases 2009

Julie Jones is social care personality of the year

08 June 2009

The Ceretas National Home Care Awards took place on Saturday 6th June 2009. Hosted by Ruby Wax, the sector’s premier awards culminated in a gala dinner in London’s Grosvenor Square.

The Department of Health-backed national event received nominations and support from all corners of the home care sector. The purpose is to promote good practice within the sector and to raise the profile of home care. There were a total of eighteen award categories representing all aspects of the home care.

On the evening Julie said: “This is completely fantastic. The room is full of social care personalities and I am honoured to be amongst them”.

Mike Coster, Associate Director in the Business & Commercial Banking Healthcare team at sponsors The Royal Bank of Scotland, says: "This is really a sector where people dedicate themselves to their work and it is very rewarding to see so many recognised for their efforts. Congratulations to all the winners".

The judges say: “As Chief Executive of SCIE, Julie Jones has worked hard to ensure they have recognition in the independent sector at a time when social care is beginning to get the recognition it finally deserves. Julie has achieved a great deal in the short time she has been in post. Resources developed during the past year will support all those who work in services for older people, they include: Nutritional Care; Assistive Technology; Help through a Hospital Stay; A Guide to Personalisation and Dignity in Care. Perhaps the most important to date is Julie's contribution to the development of the new Skills Academy. The successful transformation of social care services will depend on the transformation of the social care workforce. Julie has set SCIE on a new journey to support training organisations by producing resources that will focus on the development of new skills and the improvement of existing skills. We look forward to seeing where the journey ends”

Here are the other winners of this years’ National Home Care Awards

Home Care Worker North East – Margaret Hughes, Gateshead Council

Margaret has a confident & warm personality and is comfortable with people. A phrase she used in her interview ‘Listen with your eyes & ears’ shows her compassion and understanding of people’s needs. She felt that a happy workforce makes a happy Service User Group.

Home Care Worker North West – Vanessa Lowe, Home Instead Senior Care

The love Vanessa has for her work shone through. She feels she gains almost as much from the service users as they gain from her. She certainly understands and demonstrates the concept of personalised care.

Home Care Worker London – Mohammed Mirzaei, Sevacare

Mohammed’s enthusiastic, bubbly personality adds warmth to the lives of all the people he supports. His approach and awareness of the diverse needs of a multi-cultural community was profound and he uses his own experience to give him a sensitivity to the individual needs of all his Service Users.

Home Care Worker South East – Gwen Sharpin, Meritum Independent Living

Gwen’s optimistic approach to her work, building a trust with the people she visits makes her determined that whatever needs to be done, will be done. Life experience helps her support the younger people in her team and she is really pleased she was given the chance to achieve her NVQ 2 at the age of 76.

Home Care Worker South West – Debbie Thacker, Somerset Care

Debbie impressed the judges with her passion for her work, her determination to ensure people receive the best possible care and support and her ideas for a better future for those in need of care.

Home Care Worker Midlands – Maureen Evans, Radis Group

Maureen’s love of her job as a home carer stood out throughout her interview. This in turn clearly resulted in a high level of competence and commitment to all areas of her role.

Home Care Worker Wales – Sonya O’Connell, Bridgend County Council

With her cheerful, bouncy personality Sonya puts her Service Users at ease - she adapts her approach to suit each individual and never forgets she is invading their home. Sonya loves to see people regain their independence remembering that she too may, one day, need help.

Overall Winner - Debbie Thacker, Somerset Care

Debbie talked about having a “clear mind”, having compassion, ensuring the job is always done well, about her passion for caring for those who are near the end of their lives and her dream of having a palliative care team in the community. The panel felt that her contribution to Home Care is quite outstanding.

Home Care Newcomer – Becky Crayston, Housing 21

Becky was enthusiastic and is eager to make a difference. She understood the concepts of home care and
the importance of the involvement of the service user. As Becky said ‘get out on the floor’.

Home Care Coordinator – Donna Stacey, Careforce Group

Donna was selected for her knowledge and commitment. She demonstrated a clear understanding of the role and presented this with passion and energy.

Home Care Worker Specialist Service – Allan Salles, Sweet Tree Home Care Services

No words can describe how fulfilled Allan is in his role. His enthusiasm and motivation to transfer his personal skills and development to the individuals he supports is second to none. He has made a remarkable difference to the lives of many people.

Registered Home Care Manager – Kim Philpot, Brighton and Hove City Council

Kim quietly showed us her service user focus and how vital her staff and their development was, although not a self publicist Kim demonstrated she was very focused on delivering an excellent service in a very changing environment.

Home Care Trainer – Amanda Pettitt, Active Assitance

Amanda is inspirational in the practical yet innovative approach she brings to training home care staff. She sees training as an integral part of continuous professional development and this in turn encourages staff to seek more opportunities to develop their skills and expertise.

Home Care Innovator – Suzanne Chapman, Goldsborough Home Care

Suzanne was chosen because she identified a gap in existing practice. She has filled that gap by developing a toolkit that can be used by care staff, families and other agencies that will ensure person continued support for people with dementia.

Home Care Manager – Mary Fardon, Housing 21

Mary demonstrated the skill and importance of “gelling” a team to achieve outstanding high quality care for the benefit of the service users and the care team.

IT Innovator – London Borough of Havering

Havering were chosen for their vision on implementing an end to end solution now that provides immediate benefits and an innovation platforms supporting the transformation agenda into the future.

Home Care Business of the Year – Beech Tree Total Care

Despite strong competition from all the finalists and one in particular, the judges chose Beech Tree because they were impressed by the company’s passion and commitment to provide an excellent service. The company is being responsive to demand by developing new and high quality training modules.

UKHCA Dignity in Care Award - Somerset Care at Home – Initial Response Team

The judges were impressed with Somerset Care by the passion shown for their work and how they demonstrated that clients were very much at the centre of their operation. The team also displayed that they went more than the extra mile to make sure that all people were valued.

Media contact

Steve Palmer | Interim Press and Public Affairs Manager | T: 020 7089 7117 | Mobile: 07739 458 192 | Email: media@scie.org.uk