Sevenoaks care home staff celebrate after their work is recognised at awards ceremony

IT WAS a great night for two local Care Homes at the recent Greensleeves Care Awards. Lavender Fields and Grosvenor House, which are both based in the Sevenoaks area, picked up five of the 16 accolades on offer.

Karen Cooper, the Home manager at Lavender Fields Care Home near Sevenoaks won the Manager of the Year award. She is pictured with Greensleeves chief executive Paul Newman, trustee Des Kelly OBE, and chairman of trustees Chris Shaw.

Lavender Field’s Karen Cooper was presented with the ‘Manager of the Year’ award and her colleague Paul Fagg, the care home’s Maintenance Manager, was the recipient of the ‘Unsung Hero’ award.

The efforts of Gloucester House resident Winne Hull were recognised with the ‘Fundraising Initiative of the Year’ award and Hayley Saunders, part of the Activities Team at the nursing home in Lansdowne Road, was awarded the trophy for her work on the Gardens and Grounds. The Sevenoaks Care Home as a whole received the title of ‘Eden Home of the Year’.

The awards ceremony took place at the Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotel at London Heathrow and the full list of winners was as follows:

Manager of the Year: Karen Cooper, Lavender Fields

The award recognises a Manager or Deputy Manager who demonstrates great commitment to the home and the Trust and offers continuous support to their team.

Unsung Hero: Paul Fagg, Lavender Fields

The award recognises an individual who continues to make an excellent contribution to the Trust, who supports the values of Greensleeves Care and who deserves this special acknowledgement.

Fundraising Initiative of the Year: Winnie Hull, Gloucester House

This award recognised an individual or group of staff who have had a positive impact on the fundraising for the home within the last 12 months through implementation of a new initiative.

Gardens and Grounds: Hayley Saunders, Gloucester House

This award recognises the innovative use of outside space, regardless of size, which encourages residents’ involvement in the design and maintenance of the space.

Eden Home of the Year: Gloucester House

The award is to recognise the home that best demonstrates Greensleeves Care’s commitment to the Eden Alternative philosophy.

Care Professional of the Year: Leanda Howard, Broadlands

This award is to recognise any member of the care team who is dedicated to providing consistent high-quality, person-centred care, is a team player and regularly goes the extra mile.

Colleague of the Year: Paula Sherwood, Grosvenor House

This award recognises a colleague who has a positive impact on the working day, supporting and assisting residents and also their colleagues with their open demeanour and friendly hardworking attitude.

Dining Experience: Queen Elizabeth House Care and Catering Team

This award is to recognise excellence in the provision of nutritious and well-presented meals.

Excellence in Resident Experience: Janet Potter, Borovere

This is to recognise an individual or team in making the ideas and aspirations of residents become reality. They have demonstrated an in-depth knowledge of residents to create a unique person-centred care experience.

Excellence in Dementia Care: Janine O’Neill, Harleston House

The award recognises an individual who has worked energetically and creatively to improve the care of residents living with dementia, their friends and family.

Home of the Year: Torkington House

This award recognises the home which achieves the highest standards of care, excellent teamwork, and continuous person-centred care not only for the resident but for their family and friends.

Innovation: Joint home winners: Michelle Williams, and Jen Pattenden, Borovere and Hannah Brooks, Whitegates

This award is to recognise the creation of something new or innovative within the Trust for the benefit of residents within the home. This can be for a one off event or a longer term programme.

Living Our Values: De Lucy House

The award is to recognise an individual or team who has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to our values of respect, openness and responsibility.

Most Improved Home of the Year: Borovere

The award is to recognise the most improved home over the previous 12 months. Every home has periods of change and this is to acknowledge the efforts of the team to overcome the challenges before them.

Provision of an Outstanding Activities Programme: Lyn Andrews, Thornbank

This award recognises the outstanding provision of activities within the care home. This provision is inclusive of all residents and there is an element of outreach/involvement with the local community.

Volunteer of the Year: Judith Cooper, Grosvenor House

The award recognises a volunteer who has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to one of our homes, creating a positive impact to improve the lives of residents.