Yours Caring awards 2010

By Rosie Sandall

Yours magazine

01 June 2010 13:02

Help us celebrate the UK’s best residential and sheltered homes, and their staff, in the Yours Caring Stars of the Year Awards 2010

Do you have experience of a care home or sheltered accommodation in the UK? We’re looking to celebrate the very best residential homes and reward their most caring staff in the Yours Caring Stars of the Year Awards 2010 – but we need your help to find them!

Thousands of you are regular visitors to residential and nursing homes. Some of you are living in residential care, and many more of you live in sheltered accommodation or visit relatives there. That’s why we need you to help us find the home, sheltered accommodation and individual carer who deserve our prestigious Caring Awards.

The media is full of bad news about care homes, but we know this is not the whole story. Moving into residential care or sheltered accommodation can be stressful and traumatic for all concerned, but many thousands of people find that a new lease of life comes with the confidence of knowing care is close at hand if needed.

The place you nominate must be somewhere you would be happy to call home – where residents are encouraged to live life to the full and are treated with dignity. The category includes all nursing and residential care homes and sheltered accommodation in the UK.
There will also be a special award – the Yours Caring Staff Member of the Year Award – that will go to someone who goes the extra mile to make a real difference to residents’ lives. The winner might be a carer or sheltered home manager. There will be seven regional finalists in all categories – South West; South East; Midlands and East Anglia; Wales; North East; North West and Scotland.

Yours Editor, Valery McConnell, says: “We launched our Caring Home of the Year Awards last year and it was extremely well received. We want to continue to celebrate the high standards maintained in many of these homes.”

Yours Reader Care Editor, Rosie Sandall, who co-ordinates the awards, visited many of the homes that were nominated last year. “I was amazed by the high standard of care and the range of food and activities on offer,” she says. “I’m looking forward to visiting some of the country’s best sheltered accommodation nominated this year, too.”


Meet last year’s winners…

The Swn-y-Mor Care Centre, Aberavon, South Wales, won last year’s Caring Home of the Year Award 2010. Manager, Sharon Williams says it’s given staff a huge morale boost. “We’ve had compliments from our local council, local people and from the care homes inspectorate,” says Sharon. Staff used the prize money to create a French bistro-style cafe for residents and guests and to help build a garden for disabled people.

Here’s what our celebrity supporters have to say…

“I’m happy to support the Yours Caring Stars of the Year Awards 2010. I was very pleased to see the high standard of care highlighted by the nominations received for last year’s awards and I encourage readers to send in their nominations.”
Lynda Bellingham

“I’m happy to be supporting the Yours Caring Stars of the Year Awards again this year. The awards highlight all the good work that goes on in homes across the country. It was great to see so many homes nominated last year and I hope there’ll be even more nominations this year.”   Fiona Phillips

Taking part is easy

To nominate a special home, sheltered accommodation or staff member, download our nomination form and post it to us. Alternatively, you can email your entry to rosemary.sandall@bauermedia.co.uk. Make sure you include, in no more than 300 words, what makes the home, sheltered accommodation or caring person so special. Make sure you include the name of the home or staff member, the address, telephone number and also your full contact details. Remember to specify whether it’s a nursing/ residential home, sheltered accommodation or caring staff member.  The closing date is July 31st, 2010.

The prizes

The winners of the prestigious Yours Caring Stars of the Year 2010 awards will receive some very special prizes, and every home or person nominated will receive a special certificate.