Congratulations to our regional CareGiver of the Year Award winners!
Meet five local heroes, who are hailed for the impact they have on their clients' lives
Published: 20/07/2022
Right at Home UK is delighted to award five winners with Regional CareGiver of the Year titles, after care teams across the UK nominated their peers for recognition.
We introduced regional categories to our annual Celebration Awards this year, because our national award attracted so many fantastic entries from across Right at Home's network of 70+ franchises.
With the social care sector having faced such significant challenges since the COVID-19 outbreak, it seems only right to recognise the people who really live and breathe Right at Home’s values and commitment of ‘making a difference every day’.
And we were blown away by the dedication and caring natures of all entrants; people who are offering outstanding levels of support to their vulnerable clients, and also to their colleagues.
Each Right at Home office was invited to nominate its shining stars; the submissions were reviewed, and finalists were interviewed by a panel of judges to determine who would be crowned Regional CareGiver of the Year in their respective areas.
We are proud to introduce the winners selected for each region, who will now go into a nationwide final:
Northern England Regional Winner, Sarah Lisle
Hailed as a 'fantastic ambassador for the company' by her manager, Sarah has been a CareGiver at Right at Home North Cheshire & Leigh since 2020.
One of her clients called her "a ray of sunshine" saying: "She always makes me laugh; we go out together and she is my eyes and ears and I feel completely safe. It is a pleasure and an honour for her to be part of my team and come into my home."
Sarah said: “I was delighted to be nominated, so to win is overwhelming! All the values that Right at Home stand for are what I believe in, so I love getting my head down at work and getting stuck in.
"I already felt valued and supported by the management team and I work around exceptional carers every day, so to win is just the cherry on top of my job.”
Regional Winner for East England, Simone Drinkwater:
Simone was voted into the award by her peers, who describe her as respectful, kind, considerate and committed to excellence in service delivery.
She regularly receives praise and feedback from clients and their families, and was even hailed as helping to save a gentleman's life by spotting the early signs of an infection that doctors said would likely have turned into sepsis.
Simone said: “I am overwhelmed, but really pleased. I have such amazing colleagues and managers, without their help and input in everyday calls and challenges I wouldn’t be where I am now.”
Greater London’s Regional CareGiver of the Year is Jordan Lewis
A former scaffolder, Jordan joined the team at Right at Home Borehamwood & Watford in March 2020 and immediately realised he'd found his vocation.
He has since worked his way up to a Team Leader role and has won over dozens of clients who were unsure about having a male carer on their team.
Described as gentle, caring, confident and a fantastic problem solver, his colleagues say Jordan regularly prioritises their clients' needs ahead of his own personal life.
He is also always on the lookout for ways to increase clients' independence. "Everyone should have a Jordan" is how one felt about him!
Jordan said: “I feel very grateful and proud to receive such an honourable award. It's such an amazing feeling. My win means a lot to me. All I want to do is come to work and make a difference.”
South East Regional CareGiver of the Year is... Louise Gwalty
Creative Louise is a superb team player, according to her managers, who often puts her cooking and crafting skills to use making treats for her team and her clients at Right at Home Basingstoke.
A fantastic mentor, she supports new CareGivers to gain confidence in the role and sets an exemplary example, regularly going above and beyond expectations to put a smile on her clients' faces.
Client Gill, who has Parkinson's described Louise's support through her husband Trevor's illness and passing as 'incredible.' Gill moved house after Trevor died and says she couldn't have faced some of the challenges without Lou by her side.
A former florist, Lou even turned Trevor's funeral flowers into beautiful sprays that she and Gill took to the cemetery and laid for Gill's family and friends.
Her manager Emily said: "Louise was new to care when she joined us, but it was immediately apparent that she had the makings of a fantastic CareGiver - she had empathy, compassion and great attention to detail. She's gone from strength to strength and we need more like her - so if you could clone her please, that would be amazing!"
Louise said: "When Emily turned up with flowers to announce that I had won CG of the year for our region I was completely shocked. It is a complete privilege to do the job that I do and to win an award for doing something I love is amazing.”
Becky Kenworthy is our South West CareGiver of the Year:
Becky joined Right at Home North Somerset two years ago and immediately made an impression as someone for whom nothing was ever too much trouble.
Colleagues love her 'super relaxed' and supportive approach; the way she takes everything in her stride without ever causing stress or panic. And Becky's clients love her because she's always on the lookout for activities and ideas that will brighten their day.
One said: "Her visits are the highlight of my week - she is honestly one of the most genuine and professional carers I have met.
"We have done things I wouldn’t have even thought possible - like today we went to the sea front and went on the Giant Wheel. I’ve wanted to do that for years but didn’t think I could; but she made it happen."
Becky said: “It was a complete shock to win, and I am very honoured. I’m so proud of our whole team because even though the award is for me it’s for our team and our clients. I just want to care for people and do the best by them.”
The regional winners, having received their prize, will now progress into the national finals to compete for the overall title of Right at Home CareGiver of the Year.
The winner will be decided by an independent panel of judges comprising of experts from the franchising industry and the social care sector and will be presented with the accolade at Right at Home’s Annual Conference on Thursday 29 September.
Commenting on the awards Lucy Campbell, Right at Home CEO, said: “It is great to see the standard of entries and level of competition for the Regional CareGiver Awards – it was fantastic to read so many inspiring and heart-warming stories.
"It highlights the dedication to quality care our CareGivers have, right across the network. We want to wish the winners an enormous congratulations and extend our thanks for their incredible commitment to our clients.”
