Oscar night for Bury’s caring stars

Date published: 06 May 2010

Dedicated carers took a deserved bow in the spotlight at the borough’s first Bury Adult Care Services awards night.

The first of its kind in the borough, the big night was designed to celebrate the hard work and achievements of people who work in adult social care in Bury. This included workers across the council, private, voluntary and independent care providers, volunteers and unpaid carers.

More than 80 nominations were received in the ten award categories, many from social care users who wanted to praise the support they received.

The event was held at the Village Hotel in Bury, attended by finalists and their guests as well as those who made their nominations. Special guests included Sue Macmillan, regional director from CQC who opened the event, and Linda Nazarko OBE, who was guest speaker.

Kat Sowden, head of workforce in adult care services, said: “The Department of Health outlined the importance of raising public awareness of social care roles and recognising their value to the community.

“We thought there could be no better way to do that than by having an awards ceremony to recognise and celebrate excellence in adult social care.

“We worked with our partners to ensure that everyone, whether a carer, a volunteer, a personal assistant or an employee, had a chance of winning an award. We also involved our customers in judging nominations, so they truly are the people’s awards.

“It has been such a positive experience for everyone and has boosted staff morale across the board. These are challenging times for social care and it’s good to be able to do something that people can feel positive about.”

The categories and winners were: 

• Young Care Practitioner of the Year: won by Luke Chadwick, who works in the Learning Disability Support Team 2 and has progressed to a Support Worker role
• Employee of the Year: won by Mick Williams, employed by Sunnybank P.R.S. to support clients through psychiatric rehabilitation
• Manager of the Year: won by Collette Conway, the manager of Gorsey Clough Nursing Home which specialises in dementia care
• Team of the Year: won by Easycare, a private domiciliary care organisation with an “Excellent” CQC rating
• Equality and Diversity Award: won by National Autistic Society Brokerage Scheme. NAS is contracted by the council to provide specialist support to adults with autistic spectrum disorder
• Innovation Award: won by ISS Governance Group. This is a multi-agency team which rehabilitates people with learning disabilities by identifying housing options, volunteering opportunities and other social supports which allow them to integrate with the community
• Dignity Award: won by Peter Lambert and the Support Worker Team, which supports adults with learning disabilities to live independently
• Social Care Worker of the Year Award: won by Karen Prue. Karen is a personal assistant to Kathy Ward, providing care and support to enable Kathy to live an independent life
• Beyond the Call of Duty Award: won by Bridget Fox. Bridget works for Bury EST who we heard about earlier. She is a Placement Officer working directly with clients to find the right employment and training opportunities for them
• Lifetime Dedication Award: won by Monica Crossley, who has worked for the council for more than 30 years. She is currently Service Manager for the Older People’s Residential and Day Care services