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CHANGING LIVES | Recognising outstanding colleagues at the NCG awards 2023
STORIES of amazing dedication to their work and passion that proactively changes the lives of vulnerable adults across the UK have been celebrated at the National Care Group annual awards ceremony for 2023.


Amazing successes include the ‘Making a Difference Award’ granted to one of the Affinity Supporting People supported living teams in Accrington. Following the news that a person they support had received a terminal cancer diagnosis, the team worked tirelessly to ensure her wishes were carried out and she remained at the service and not in a hospice for her end-of-life care. From taking her to the theatre one final time to organising district nurses to provide home care pain relief and helping to put the funeral together on behalf of her family that lived far away, the team went above and beyond.



Mandy Berry and Gavin Brockbank from Affinity Supporting People collecting their award


Across all the awards, colleagues were highlighted for going the extra mile including those at Shelton Care who took home the Operations Team of the Year title for helping the people they support to achieve their goals. A highlight of their nomination was colleagues learning basic Urdu and Italian to improve communications with an individual and their family and to be able to offer greater quality support.


Members of Shelton Care's Links & Networks Day services collecting their award


Another winner from the evening was Sabine Channa who took home ‘Newcomer of the Year’ for her positive impact as a keyworker at Endurance Care in Maidstone. Through her part-time role, she has worked to change the lifestyle of the person she supports by introducing movement classes and making healthier choices more fun, which has resulted in a marked improvement in his diabetes.


Registered Manager Tunde collects the Newcomer award on behalf of Sabine.


140 National Care Group colleagues were celebrated at the annual Changing Lives awards on Friday 21 April across ten different categories.


James Allen, CEO of National Care Group, said: “Following several unprecedented years in the industry, it’s incredibly important to take a step back, regroup and reflect. Our annual conference is a great opportunity to do this and allows us to ensure the entire organisation is on board with our goals for the future as well as championing those colleagues that have gone the extra mile.


“Our annual awards is a fantastic opportunity to reflect on the past year and reward the colleagues that have delivered outstanding support through their roles.


“Our ambition is to positively change the lives of the people we support, which involves a team effort across every service and every colleague in the group. We’re continually looking at ways we can drive quality in our services and to do this we have to have committed colleagues that we do, who are always willing to go the extra mile. I’m very proud to be able to recognise the hard work of our team with our annual awards – it’s an event that never fails to inspire and motivate us as an organisation.”


The ten winners were:


• Clinician of the Year – Julie Warren, clinical nurse lead at Phoenix House, ran by Wellington Support

• Support Function – Claire Hipkins, Quality Team

• Operations Team of the Year – Links and Networks Day Services, Shelton Care Group

• Outstanding Achievement – the Wellesley View Team at Shelton Care Group led by team leader Jake Durham

• Wellbeing Champion – Karen Twigg, administration assistant, Regent College

• Manager of the year – Kate Harvey, Walliscote Road

• Making a Difference Award – an Affinity Supporting People supported living service

• Support Worker of the Year – Lucy Fathers, The Willows

• Rising Star Award – Claire Carr, Jamesons Residential

• Newcomer of the Year – Sabine Channa, Endurance Care

The black-tie event welcomed 140 National Care Group colleagues at the East Midlands Conference Centre to celebrate the successes of the last year, participate in a number of workshops, and for the executive team to set the vision for the year ahead.


The evening awards event was hosted by actor Neil Grainger, who has appeared in Casualty and Crossroads. The daytime conference sessions also included an inspirational talk from Dani Grieveson, a TEDx speaker who has been named in the Top 10 Inspirational Speakers in the UK and discusses topics including productivity, culture, and performance. The event was a fitting celebration of the colleagues who have shown exceptional resilience and teamwork in the last few years.


James said: “This year, we wanted to include a motivational talk to really empower our colleagues and Dani was the ideal choice, having worked with the likes of the Olympics, Coca-Cola, and Rolls-Royce, she’s used to building and motivating high-performance teams. We also want to make sure all colleagues feel valued – whether they’re part of the executive team or the service teams.”


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