Great British Care Awards North East Regional Finals

EveryDay Care and Support staff excel in regional care finals.

We were off to see the winners, the wonderful winners of care and what an inspirational evening it was at the Grand Hotel, Gosforth. Social care excellence was in abundance and to make the regional finals in such prestigious company was fantastic. The event followed a Wizard of Oz theme and there was certainly real magic to behold in the room. 

The EveryDay Care & Support team had three shortlisted regional finalists and they were:

• Michael Caithness in the Home Care Worker Award category,
• Clare Robb in the Care Newcomer Award category 
• Head of Professional Care Services, Kerry Parker in the Home Care Registered Manager Award category.

Michael Caithness Shortlisted Home Care Worker Award Nomination- “He is very kind, caring and thoughtful with his customers and also with the staff he works with. Michael goes above and beyond what is requested from him in his day to day role.

The customers see Michael as a ray of sunshine and even more so in the last few months when they have been locked down due to Covid-19.  Michael kept everyone’s spirits up and realised that some customers needed more support as they had no family to support them, so he would do little errands for the customer in the extra care scheme where he works. He was doing things like collecting prescriptions, getting a newspaper, or just being someone to talk to in a very worrying time. 

Michael does far more than is stated in his contract but nothing ever seems to be a bother for him and he should be recognised for being the lovely person he is”

Clare Robb Shortlisted Care Newcomer Award Nomination -“Clare is a relatively new member of the team in the wellbeing centres and she has proven to be a dedicated team member and works great with staff and the customers.  Clare was new to care work and was looking to get into care as she thought this would be a rewarding role. 

Clare also agreed to work for the domiciliary care team in our company along with working hours in the wellbeing centres.  Clare had no previous experience in care but her nature and personality shone through at the interview and she has proven in the last 10 months that she definitely has a caring nature.  Clare always goes that extra mile to ensure her customers are happy and are aware of all the services that are offer within the organisation. 

Clare is hard working, reliable, empathetic and has a good understanding of the needs of others. Clare is keen to progress and learn new skills to broaden her knowledge and enhance her chance of climbing the ladder in the organisation. I do think she will do well in her future”. 

Kerry Parker Shortlisted Care Home Registered Manager Award Nomination- “Kerry Parker is not only a talented and professional Home Care Registered Manager, she is the Head of Service for our organisation and is second to none. To say she is hard working and dedicated is an understatement, Kerry is un-stoppable! 

Kerry fronts a service for customers that strives to be the best, providing a person centred approach to care delivery, and to recruit and train personal support staff to the highest standard. Kerry demonstrates excellent leadership skills and knows exactly how to get the job done. She expects her team to work together and to react to change in an organised and structured way for the benefit of our customers and staff.

She works tirelessly to implement best practice, producing guidelines and standard operating procedures throughout the service. Kerry has developed a structure for staff development, inductions, training, appraisals and talent management within the staffing team. She is determined to bring out the best in people, pushing for the best outcome for our customers and always encouraging others to be proactive and confident in their approach.

When the effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic gripped the country earlier this year, the response from Kerry was immediate, implementing robust infection control regimes within all areas of the service. Kerry developed plans of action, a daily tracking system of any changes to services and partnership working with the local authority. It’s been a difficult time for customers having to isolate and Kerry has been instrumental in providing and encouraging new technology to help bring people together in different ways. This has worked really well.

To sum up, Kerry is a people person who leads from the front and will never back away. She is inspiring and wants the best for everyone in the service. She truly deserves recognition for her constant efforts and dedication”

We were extremely fortunate to celebrate a win for Kerry Parker in her category and she dedicated the win to her care team saying “this win comes on the back of an exceptional 18 months due to the pandemic. I’d like to dedicate my award to every single member of my team who has made this possible. They have been courageous in the face of Covid and have stood fast with me to support our customers and their families during this testing time. I sincerely thank you all. You truly are what makes EveryDay Care & Support different from other providers”.

Dawn McNally, Chief Executive of Age UK North Tyneside said “I really could not be more proud of Kerry and her care team who have been incredible both prior to and during the pandemic. They are a credit to Age UK North Tyneside and EveryDay Care & Support ”   

Kerry will now go onto the finals of the Great British Care Awards to promote social care in the north east region. We wish her and the other North East representatives the very best of luck in Birmingham in September.