Our partners excel at the Great London Care Awards

Meena Lacey, the intrepid Head of Care at MindLeaders ThirdForce, recently presented an award at the Great London Care Awards. Here’s her report from the evening. 

On Saturday evening I was fortunate enough to take part in the Great London Care Awards 2011. Celebrating excellence in the sector, the awards are one of the most glamorous events in the social care calendar.

MindLeaders ThirdForce is a proud sponsor of the awards, so my guests from SureCare and I were privileged to share a table with Shaun Turner from the Care Professionals Benevolent Fund (CPBF). The CPBF support care workers who fall on hard times due to life-changing circumstances and we were touched by Lynda Bellingham’s video introduction to the organisation.

After a sumptuous gala dinner and musical entertainment, the awards ceremony itself was hosted by Debra Stephenson, the TV star featuring in ‘Bad Girls’ and ‘Coronation Street’. Debra treated us to a few impressions of celebrities who were not able to be there on the night.

During the ceremony I was privileged to announce the winner for The Care Team Award. After reviewing the entries as a member of the judging panel, I have to admit that all the finalists I met were winners in their own right. They had all made an outstanding contribution in their everyday work.

Above from left: Meena, the winning team at Greensleeves Homes Trust and host Debra Stephenson.

However, it was the team at Queen Elizabeth House at Greensleeves Homes Trust who really stood out and very much deserved the award, one of many they won on the night.

A real highlight of the evening was that so many of our partners won awards! Congratulations to the following winners:

• Royston Stephens at Barchester HealthCare  - The Care Newcomer Award
• Richard Richards at Barchester HealthCare -The Dementia Carer Award
• Julie Carson at Choice Support  -The Frontline Leaders Award
• Daniel Burner, Adelina Trillia and Helen Ramage at The Extra Mile Care Company – The Care Employer Award
• Ricardo Fernandes at The Extra Mile Care Company -The Ancillary Worker Award
• Nadine Mogford at The Extra Mile Care Company – The Care Trainer Award

After the ceremony we danced into the early hours and everyone left the awards in awe of the outstanding contribution that all the winners and finalists have made to social care.

Good luck to all the winners who will now take part in the National Great British Care Awards in 2012!

You can now keep up with Meena’s busy world on Twitter! Follow @MeenaLacey