Celebrating our Iris Care Group Regional Finalists at the Great British Care Awards
We are proud to announce that a number of staff across our services have been made finalists at the Great British Care Awards.
Staff in both England and Wales have been recognised for their contributions to the social care sector in the Regional Finals for Southwest England, West Midlands, and Wales.
We have an incredible team across all of our services that are dedicated to providing excellent standards of care for the people we support, and we are so proud to see so many of them recognised at these awards.
Southwest Regional Finals
One of the people we support in our supported living services, Theas, was made a finalist in The Co-Production Award for the brilliant work she did with the team at Hayburn Bungalows to create her person-centred path. With a goal of wanting to live more independently in the future, Theas identified some skills that she wanted to learn to meet this goal, including cooking.
Combining her love of social media with her new cooking goal, the “Cooking with Theas” video series was born, sharing Theas’ progress (and recipes!) across our organisation’s social media channels.
Two of our Registered Managers were also made finalists for The Care Home Registered Manager Award; Emma Kelly, and Emanuela Deorde.
Emma does a fantastic job of managing a number of our supported living services (The Bungalows, Painswick Road, The Wheatway and Hayburn Bungalows), and she was nominated for the incredible work she does to support the people in these services and her staff team. Emma has supported people to achieve lifelong dreams including learning to drive and pursuing further education, and her team sing her praises.
Emanuela is the manager for Fieldview, and she was nominated for the exceptional support she has provided for a new staff member that has been having struggles in their personal life. Emanuela has been a supportive shoulder and listening ear throughout this difficult period, and she was instrumental in their successful move from Cardiff to Gloucester.
We were also delighted to see that two of our Support Workers, Stephanie Agar and Glenda Thompson were also made finalists for the Care Worker Award.
Glenda was nominated for consistently going above and beyond, and putting the people she supports at the heart of everything she does.
Stephanie was nominated for her incredible commitment and dedication to her role, as well as her kindness and selflessness. The person who nominated Stephanie described her as ‘outstanding’ and said that Stephanie ‘puts in all her best in all she does’.
In The Workforce Development Award, Scott Jones, our Learning and Development Manager for our English services, was made a finalist for the work he does preparing our new team members for their roles at Iris Care Group. Scott is often one of the first people that our new staff members meet, and he is repeatedly praised for his amazing attitude, friendly approach, and the warm welcome he offers.
We were also delighted to see that Catherine Sweeney, our Tenancy Liaison Officer, was made a finalist in The Ancillary Worker Award for the important work she does to help the people we support manage their tenancies, understand their rights, and gain financial literacy. Cat was also nominated for the incredible kindness and compassion she showed to an overseas staff member who unfortunately suffered a stroke – with Cat’s support and assistance, they were moved into appropriate and stable accommodation, and were able to navigate an unfamiliar healthcare system to ensure they received the right care.
West Midlands Regional Finals
Suzanne Parker (Registered Manager, Pirton Grange) was made a finalist in The Care Home Registered Manager Award for the incredible improvements she has made to the service since her appointment as manager. Suzanne has brought new energy to the team and made a huge difference to the culture at the service, and as a result of her ongoing efforts, Pirton Grange was rated ‘Good’ by the CQC in their latest inspection.
Wales Regional Finals
Beechwood College
The Laurel Home Team from Beechwood College have been made finalists in The Care Team Award for the ongoing work they have been doing to support a student who has been having a difficult time. They were nominated for the creative strategies they had developed to support this student, and the collaborative work they have been doing with the student’s family and clinical team to provide the right support.
Ocean Community Services
We also saw a number of staff from Ocean Community Services (our residential care division) being made finalists.
Area Manager, Naima Dodd is a finalist in The Workforce Development Award for the important work she has been doing to help Support Workers develop their skills and progress to senior and management roles. Naima has developed a series of Manager Progression Workshops which she has been running with great success, and she is currently expanding the courses she offers to promote learning and development across the organisation.
Three of our Home Managers were also nominated for The Care Home Registered Manager Award; Nathan Lidster (Witla Court), Tammy Rees (Ty Brynteg), and Kim Ellwood (Wentwood Court).
Nathan was made a finalist for the mentoring work he has been doing for those looking to progress in OCS, and the employment opportunities he has been exploring with the people he supports. As a result of Nathan’s efforts, one of the people he supports has secured paid employment in his hometown, while he has supported others at Witla to develop employability skills through volunteering.
Tammy was nominated by the team at Ty Brynteg, who attribute the home’s success to Tammy’s leadership and her commitment to the people she supports and her staff. The team were inspired by the work Tammy has been doing to support an individual that has struggled with renal complications, educating the team on the condition, and helping the individual develop a more positive attitude about their future with this condition.
Kim manages a team of 75 staff and was made a finalist for the fantastic culture she has created at Wentwood Court. Kim is beloved at Wentwood for her open-door policy and the environment she has created at the service, and she starts every day with a walk around Wentwood Court to check in with all of the people she supports.
Pat McMahon (Deputy Manager, Wentwood Court) has been made a finalist in The Frontline Leaders Award for the support and mentorship he offers new staff members at Wentwood, personally providing an extensive two-week induction programme to help new staff members feel confident and comfortable in their new role.
Pat was also nominated for the important work he has been doing to make the Motability Scheme more accessible for the people he supports, improving their access to the community, and enabling the people he supports to visit family and friends more often. With Pat’s guidance and support, 7 of the people he supports at Wentwood now have specially adapted mobility vehicles.
Mohammed Ismail (Senior Support Worker, Conway House) and Sharon Newman (Support Worker, Wentwood Court) are both finalists in The Care Home Worker Award for the incredible work they do with the people we support.
Mohammed was nominated by the Conway team for the positive impact he has had on the home, helping the people he supports achieve lifelong goals, going above and beyond each day, and promoting education and professional development for himself and the team.
Sharon has been an excellent role model for staff at Wentwood Court. Recently one of the people she supported suffered cardiac arrest, and Sharon performed CPR for over 20 minutes whilst instructing other staff and waiting for paramedics. Sharon accompanied this individual to the hospital to ensure their specific needs were met, and was praised by the paramedics and the hospital for her quick-thinking that saved a life.
We’d like to sincerely congratulate all of our finalists for this amazing achievement – we will be cheering all of them on across our services!
