Belong Crewe care workers recognised in Champion Awards

Care workers at Belong care village in Crewe have been recognised at the organisation’s annual Champion Awards, hosted via live stream for the first time.

Belong Crewe team members won trophies for compassion, leadership and expertise in end-of-life care.

The winners, chosen by an external independent judging panel, including in-depth interviews with candidates, were presented with their awards at the care village.

Colleagues and customers of Belong villages across the North West, as well as relatives, watched the ceremony online.

Care village experience coordinator Natalie Ravenscroft, won the Leader Award in recognition of her influence on the village culture.

The judges said she was “an impressive individual who utilises her leadership skills to influence quality practices across the Belong Village Crewe”.

Donna Woolrich, community support worker at the Crewe branch of Belong’s home care service, Belong at Home, took home the Compassion Award for the commitment shown in undertaking her role.

Judges gave examples of small acts of kindness by Donna that make a big difference to people’s lives.

The Crewe team were also recognised for their commitment to ensuring the best possible outcomes for residents receiving palliative and end-of-life care, in-line with individual wishes, with the End-of-Life Care (team) award.

And there was a special award for Belong Dementia Trainer Belinda Jones.

She received the Outstanding Contribution to Belong Award for her many years of service supporting people with dementia.

Belong deputy chief executive Tracy Paine said of Belinda: “Ever since she started her career as a care assistant, supporting people with dementia came naturally to her.

“She is a truly wonderful person and an inspirational influence on our lives and work.

“She has touched so many people’s lives with her passionate and truly person-centred approach to caring for people.”

Belong’s People and Development Manager Tim Kirk said: “It’s been a very challenging year and the outbreak of the pandemic part way through our awards process disrupted our plans to bring everyone together, as it has so many other things.

“We felt strongly that it was still important to celebrate the commitment and successes of our village teams over the last 12 months, albeit under slightly different circumstances, and we are thrilled that so many of our customers and their relatives could join us for the online event.”