A celebration of professionalism, passion and commitment in care – Shining stars of care recognised at Care South’s awards ceremony
Care South, a leading provider of high quality residential and home care services across the South of England, celebrated the outstanding achievements of its staff at its annual Stars Awards ceremony held on Tuesday 21 June.
Now in its sixth year, the event, which was held at AFC Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium, recognises and rewards outstanding achievements and dedication to care provision by its staff. The awards recognise individuals and teams across a number of categories, with nominees put forward by colleagues, residents, service users and relatives. The event also celebrated the achievements of over 40 staff who achieved formal qualifications during the year.
Susan Willoughby, Chief Executive of Care South, said: “This is a highlight of our year, celebrating the professionalism, passion and commitment to care that is delivered day in, day out, by all our staff. Once again, we received a huge number of nominations for our Stars Awards, from colleagues and our residents and service users. The event was a wonderful celebration of all that is good in care and it provides us with an opportunity to publicly acknowledge and thank our staff for their dedication to providing exceptional care.
“All of our finalists have demonstrated exceptional commitment to providing the highest quality care for residents and service users across our homes and home care services, making a huge difference to the lives and wellbeing of those we care for and we are hugely grateful for and proud of their efforts. Above all we recognised that our finalists are often where they are, because of the help and support of colleagues, with teamwork being the key to successfully delivering the best quality care.”
This year’s Stars Awards marked a special anniversary for Care South, as the company celebrated its 25th anniversary. All members of staff who have achieved 25 years service or more received a special silver heart award, in recognition of their hard work.
Winners included Karen Taylor from Wickmeads, who won the ‘Manager of the Year’ award, Deborah Hodges from Home Care Bath and North East Somerset (BANES), who won ‘Home Carer of the Year’. Karen Reid, Manager at Care South’s BANES home care office was presented with the prestigious ‘Chairman’s Award for Outstanding Individual of the Year’.
‘Best Care Newcomers’ were named as Chantelle Latrese, a Care Assistant at Buxton House care home in Weymouth and Robert Windsor from Home Care BANES.
Queensmead in Christchurch, was named as ‘Home of the Year’ and also won the ‘Pride in our Home’ award. ‘Best Activities Programme’ went to the team at Talbot View in Bournemouth, with a special award for ‘Continuing Excellence in working with the Community’ presented to Jenny Webster, Activities Organiser at Maiden Castle House in Dorchester.
As part of the afternoon celebration, all staff attending the Stars Awards took part in a 25 year-themed quiz, testing their knowledge of popular culture and events from 1991 to 2016. With prizes for the winning table, it was a hotly-fought competition!
Care South places strong emphasis on staff training and continuing professional development and were able to celebrate the achievement of a range of qualifications by a large number of staff this year, which included Diplomas in Health & Social Care, Education & Training, Kitchen Services and Leadership for Health and Social Care and Children and Young People’s Services, as well as a CMI Diploma in Management and a Master of Arts in English. Paul Beasley, Deputy Home Manager at Elizabeth House in Poole was presented with a special award for ‘Commitment to Training and Development’
Care South began life as The Dorset Trust in March 1991, when Dorset County Council transferred 18 of its residential care homes to the new independent organisation.
Over the last 25 years there have been many changes, including a change of name to Care South in 2005. Many of the care homes have been modernised and refurbished, and new homes have been developed. Earlier this year, Care South opened Wickmeads, a new residential and nursing care home in Tuckton, Bournemouth, and is currently building St Ives House, a brand new nursing and specialist dementia home in St Ives, Dorset which will open in spring 2017.
Care South’s services also include home care, with three offices covering Bournemouth and Christchurch, Somerset and West Dorset and Bath and North East Somerset (BANES), and the range of services offered by home care has been extended over the years. One thing that has not changed over 25 years is the company’s primary objective, which is to provide high quality care to all its residents and service users.
