Double Success at National Dementia Awards!

Community Integrated Care was proud picked up two prestigious awards at last night’s National Dementia Care Awards at a glittering ceremony held at Brighton’s Hilton Metropole Hotel.

The National Dementia Awards are one of the social care sector’s most prestigious accolades, and were hosted by stand-up comedian and renowned quizzer Paul Sinha, most widely known for his role on ITV’s ‘The Chase’.

Carlingwark House Care Home for older people in Castle Douglas scooped the Best Dementia Continence Care Award, with Home Manager Shirley McTier and Regional Manager Julie Cowen collected the award in recognition of Carlingwark’s dedicated efforts to promote the good continence care of residents. By creating a positive living environment and continuous training and mentoring for staff, the home has set a benchmark for excellent continence care, with only 33% of residents at the service using continence products, compared to national average of 72% in dementia care homes.

Also victorious on the night was Lee Forbes, Care & Activity Worker at EachStep Blackley in Manchester, who took home the Best Dementia Trainee Award. A newcomer to the care sector, Lee joined specialist dementia service EachStep Blackley in April 2014 with no formal experience in care; however he demonstrated all of the essential empathy, morals and personal attributes required for the role. Since joining the service, Lee has dedicated his time to developing his skills, taking every opportunity to receive specialist dementia training to enhance the support he delivers to EachStep’s residents.

Judges commended Lee for his ‘incredible passion’ for his role, and his enthusiasm for continuous improvement, taking ‘every opportunity’ presented to him to further develop his specialist skills and knowledge.

Also shortlisted on the night were EachStep Blackley’s Phil Benson and Danielle Andrews – up for the the Ken Holt Memorial Award, which is given in recognition of a team who can demonstrate a passion for using resident’s life stories to establish meaningful relationships.

Neil Matthewman, Chief Executive of Community Integrated Care, says: “It is a privilege and honour for our charity to be recognised with two awards at the National Dementia Awards – and demonstrates our commitment to developing dementia services that deliver the highest standards of care and support.”

“I would like to congratulate the Carlingwark House Team, as well as Lee, Phil and Danielle on their well-deserved success.”