THE hard work and commitment of staff at a Forest care home has been celebrated with a clean sweep of regional awards.

Castleford House in Tutshill was named ‘Care Home of the Year’ at the Care and Support West 2022 Awards in Bristol on Saturday, October 8.

Three staff members also came away with top awards from social care body Care and Support West, which celebrate success within the care sector across the west of England.

Their first award of the night was for Julie Norton, who won ‘Frontline Nurse of the Year’.

Julie’s nomination noted that she led the home through a severe Covid-19 outbreak, that she supports people and their families during end of life care, and that she helps her colleagues to progress and learn.

Next was Amelia Pace, who was awarded ‘Activities Coordinator of the Year’.

Amelia was described as “exceptional” for her work offering a range of imaginative activities and inspiring a renewed sense of purpose in people.

Then, manager Ben Miller picked up ‘Care Home Manager of the Year’ for creating a happy, healthy workplace and leading by example.

The team rounded off a successful night at Ashton Gate Stadium with “the big one”, ‘Care Home of the Year’.

Castleford and its individual winners will now be entered into the Great British Care Awards regionals in November under the same categories.

Meanwhile, staff from Castleford have joined those from Longhope’s Brook Lodge, Caremark Forest of Dean and Herefordshire and the National Care Group in sharing the stories of their careers, in a bid to attract more people to the sector in the Forest.

The campaign from support group Proud to Care Gloucestershire aims to encourage more people to find out about career opportunities in the area.

Castleford’s Amelia Pace said working in care can be life changing for everyone involved.

“I feel like I really make an impact on people’s lives, and that makes me incredibly happy, knowing I have made someone’s day or helped them do something they have never done before,” she said.

“My job is to enrich people’s lives and that also enriches my life. The happiness you get from making others happy you cannot measure. It is an incredible feeling seeing your work having such an impact.”

For more information, go to www.proudtocareglos.org.uk.