Gwent carers strike gold at industry awards

INSPIRATIONAL Gwent carers have struck gold at an industry awards ceremony.
Ebbw Vale senior care assistant Nanette Jones took home the top award for dementia care in the Welsh Care Awards, while care home training boss, Neil Edmunds, from Pontypool, received a silver award at the Cardiff City Hall ceremony.

Twenty-nine-year-old care Torfaen care home manager Cheryl Cox also received a silver award, in the category for leading practice in the management of social care.

The awards, organised by the not-for-profit Care Forum Wales, recognises excellence in the field and people with ‘the X Factor’.

Nanette, who works at the Bank House Nursing Home in Beaufort, said it was a “fantastic night.”

“The whole evening was wonderful and to win was fabulous,” she added. “It’s really nice to be appreciated.”

Nanette realised she wanted to be a carer 11 years ago when her husband Michael died after a 10 month-long battle with motor neurone disease.

She now leads a team of around 20 staff – including one of her daughters, Siobhan.

Fifty-year-old Neil overcame a lifelong battle with dyslexia to gain an armful of professional qualifications before joining the Sevacare care home group in 2006.

He works across five branches including Newport and Torfaen.

Nicola Tucker, Sevacare care services area manager, who nominated him, said it was his dedication to the demanding role which landed him his award.

“His dedication to meeting service expectations has moulded his outcome-focused training sessions,” she said. “This in turn shapes the daily frontline practice of all our employees.”

Neil, who is also involved with numerous voluntary organisations, said he had refused to let severe dyslexia stand in his way.

“I believe that if you recognise you have a problem with it and are not ashamed of it, that is a great start to coping with it,” he said.

Cheryl was destined for a career as a carer from an early age when she looked after her grandparents as a teenager.

Sevacare’s Ms Tucker also nominated Cheryl, and she said she had exceeded all expectations since being appointed manager of the Torfaen and Abergavenny branches of the company a year ago.

She said: “Cheryl’s person-centred approach has proved to be motivational and as such she has created two extremely strong teams who both deliver an exemplary care service under her guidance.”

Cheryl is the youngest manager at Sevacare, which provides supported living, domiciliary care and other services throughout the region.

But the resident of Two Locks, Torfaen, who is married to husband Steve and has two children, said he still made sure that she remained involved in frontline services.

“I am very much a ‘people person’ and like to know I am helping to make a difference to people’s lives – to support them and promote independence,” Cheryl said.

Mario Kreft MBE, the chair of Care Forum Wales, said the standard of entries for the Wales Care Awards was extremely high.

“This awards ceremony is our opportunity to pay tribute and to celebrate the talent and commitment that is improving the quality of life for thousands and thousands of people throughout Wales,” he said.