We are proud and delighted to share the great news that three National Care Group Colleagues from our Integra Community Living Options service in Wales have been shortlisted for awards at the Wales Care Awards 2022.

Andrea O'Loughlin, Regional Operations Manager & Responsible Individual, Leika Jamal, Registered Manager, and Support Worker Francesca Wilcox, are all in the running for a prestigious award.

The awards are a celebration of excellence across the Wales care sector. Their purpose is to congratulate those who have demonstrated outstanding excellence within their field.

Andrea O'Loughlin, Regional Operations Manager & Responsible Individual at Integra has been shortlisted in the category of Leadership and Management in Residential Care Services. She was nominated by one of Integra's Team Leaders, Justine Harris. Justine said: "Andrea is an exceptional senior leader who is always approachable, with an open-door policy, and embraces any suggestions or changes to improve our services. We learn from her every day."

Andrea O'Loughlin

Leika Jamal, Registered Manager, has been shortlisted as a finalist in the Leadership & Management in Supported Living or Small Group Community Living Award category. Colleague Paul Curbishley, a Senior Support Worker at Integra, nominated Leika. He said: “Leika is phenomenal, there’s no other way to describe her. She leads from the front and when things happen, as they frequently do in our services, she will always support the people who are having to deal with the incident."

Leika pictured centre in black with National Care Group colleagues

Francesca Wilcox, Support Worker, is in the running for the Exceptional Newcomer Award. Francesca was nominated by Leika who said: “I’m really impressed with Francesca. She has always been proactive in completing her courses, despite never working in this sector before. She’s a natural with the people we support. She understands the bigger picture and their journey and has just picked things up very quickly. She’s not afraid to ask questions because she wants to learn and improve. She’s also really creative and flexible and a good team player. She’s a nice person to have around on shift, and always has a positive energy. She’s made a big impact and deserves this award.” Francesca Wilcox

Andrea, Leika and Francesca will be attending a sparkling awards ceremony on Friday 21 October at Cardiff City Hall. We can't wait to find out if they win and wish them all the very best of luck!

Francesca, Andrea and Leika