The staff were the stars at Care South’s annual award ceremony held in Poole in June.

The event, themed ‘You’re a Star”, saw 114 staff members receive awards in Health and Social Care from NVQ Level 2 through to an NVQ Level 4 Leadership and Management Award.

Felicity Irwin, Chairman, congratulated those who had achieved awards and also those who had supported them. “It takes time and commitment and you have every reason to feel extraordinarily proud. We are recognising your achievements this afternoon, but we appreciate them all year round,” she said.

Senior carer Philip Law, one of four recipients to address the guests, has been with Care South for a year. He said his achievement had given him satisfaction and pride, and added: “Improving ourselves and the quality of care we give is something that all of us try to achieve. To do this you have to have the tools, and qualifications provide the tools to improve the lives of those we work for.”

The awards were presented by Nick Johnson, Chief Executive of the Social Care Association, who highlighted the importance of valuing achievement. “For some of you this will be your first qualification. Do recognise its value and the value it places on you. It gives you a quality standard and will help you to carry forward the work and reputation of Care South.”

Carolyn Collins, Care South's Director of Domiciliary Care and Business Development was delighted to receive a certificate from Geoff Holt, the National Disability Sports Ambassador and Atlantic Challenge yachtsman, in recognition of Care South's ongoing support and contribution to the Care Ambassadors Scheme, managed by Partners in Care in Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole.

The Scheme, operational since 2003 and co-ordinated by Katie Bennett, links a number of voluntary, independent and statutory care organisations throughout the area to focus on social care workforce development, deploying a team of enthusiastic and motivated Ambassadors drawn from all backgrounds and job roles within the sector to 'act as role models to inspire and encourage others to consider careers in the sector'.

The event on 29th of April at Poundbury was attended by the Ambassadors team, the individual Ambassadors' employers and stakeholder representatives from local schools and colleges, local authorities, Connexions and JobCentre Plus. Geoff Holt proved to be inspirational speaker, addressing the almost 100-strong audience on the subject of the challenges and thrills of being a quadriplegic record-breaking Atlantic yachtsman.

Care South is pleased to continue to support and participate in the Care Ambassadors Scheme, raising the standard and quality of adult social care across Bournemouth, Poole and Dorset.

It was a red letter day for Care South and Diana Abel, a home care assistant based at the Crewkerne office, when she was selected from hundreds of nominees from across the county to receive the award for Best Mentor/Buddy at the Care Focus Somerset Care Awards in October 2009.

Care South is delighted with the recognition Diana has received for her work as a home care assistant, a role she describes as "challenging but fulfilling". Diana is an excellent ambassador for our work in home care, which enables people to remain in their homes and, as Diana says, to "make their lives easier and more enjoyable".

Care South sent five finalist to the Somerset Care Awards and we congratulate them on their achievements.

Care South is celebrating the achievements of two finalists at this year's prestigious Caring Times National Care Awards. Selected from thousands of entries across 14 categories were:

Carer: Andrea Moorhouse
Best Resident/Relative: Fiona Cormack and John Coles

Andrea is the Care Team Manager at Dorset House and we are pleased that her work there has been recognised with this finalist nomination. The Carer award recognises that the dedication and sensitivity of carers lies at the heart of providing quality care.

Best Resident/Relative was a new award for 2009, and celebrates the efforts made by relatives and residents alike in contributing to the happiness and well-being of care home residents and staff. Our congratulations and appreciation go to Fiona and John for their continued contribution to life at Alexandra House, where their relative, the late Kathleen Coles, was a resident.

Both finalists enjoyed attending the Gala Awards Night on 28 November 2009 at the London Hilton Metropole hotel, accompanied by Dot Soanes, then Home Manager for Alexandra House and other members of Care South, including Chief Executive Susan Willougby.

We have had a fantastic result in this year´s nominations and the following Care South staff have been shortlisted as finalists in the following categories:

Support Staff Award: Fiona Murphy
Outstanding Mentor/Buddy: Dianne Abel
Tim Catley-Day Award: Bev Mansfield
Outstanding Team Leader/Supervisor: Sarah Broom
Outstanding Contribution: Lyn Couldwell

Winners will be announced at the gala dinner and the BBC news presenter, Chris Vacher, will present the awards at the Wellsprings Centre in Taunton on 10th October 2009. Watch this space to see how the Care South staff get on!

On 2nd July, Care South celebrated its Annual Awards Ceremony at the Lifeboat College in Poole. Staff from all Care South residential homes and home care operations were represented at the “Simply the Best“ themed event. The 115 recipients received awards in health and social care, including 90 members of staff at NVQ Level 2, and an additional 18 at NVQ Level 3. Five managers achieved accreditation at NVQ Level 4, including the Registered Manager“s awards.

Guest speaker Jerry Garrett, board member for social care of the National Skills Academy, warmly congratulated all the award recipients, telling them “You can now stand up and say you are a care professional“.

This year we celebrated two firsts: one of our trainers, Karen Hodges, achieved her Level 5 Diploma to teach in the Lifelong Learning sector; Pat Britten, Home Manager of Beauchamp House nursing home, celebrated her Bachelor of Science degree, with honours, in Gerontological Nursing. Both are stunning achievements and we are very proud of them. .

Karen Hodges was a finalist in the Ceretas National Home Care Awards. Ceretas is the only membership organisation exclusively for individuals working in home care. The winner was announced at the prestigious awards presentation at the Marriott Hotel in London in June; Karen was one of the runners-up.

Commenting Nicky Smith, training manager, said “I am delighted that we have received such a prestigious nomination as it reinforces my belief we provide some of the very best training in social care. This, of course, can only be achieved when a training department has such a dedicated and professional team who recognise that the delivery of quality care demands quality training.”

Karen was nominated for the award because she acts as an exemplary role model for all newly appointed and existing members of staff; is highly committed to her own professional development; and supports the business through the delivery of quality training. The award was presented to Karen by comedian Ruby Wax.