GEM Awards
Awards Ceremony for the GEM Awards
On 21st of January we attended the GEM awards ceremony. These awards are run by the Suffolk Safeguarding Adults Board hold an Awards evening that celebrates home care workers and companies that Go the Extra Mile.
The GEM Awards provide the opportunity for providers of supported living, very sheltered accommodation and home care, who are committed to improving the dignity and experience of those receiving care, to have their work recognised, celebrated and rewarded.
We decided to enter as all our home care workers do go the extra mile for our clients and we work hard as a company to make sure this happens through recruiting the right staff, training and our thorough care planning. There were four categories that we entered and we were shortlisted for all four that we entered.
These were:
• My life, My Home – Looking at how we help to support our clients to maintain an environment that is safe and comfortable for them to continue to live at home.
• My life, My choice – Looking at how we ensure every client is fully involved in all decisions about the care that they will receive.
• My life, My fun – Looking at how we enable our clients to enjoy social activities and how we provide companionship for our clients.
• My life, My safety – Looking at how we ensure our clients feel safe and how we deal with their concerns.
• My life, My Independence – Looking at how we encourage our clients to be as independent as possible.
We were invited to the awards, and took a client and care worker with us for an enjoyable lunch and afternoon. We met some great charities and care providers and heard some brilliant stories about how these organisations had gone the extra mile.
Some had helped clients during local disasters, some had worked with individual adults with learning difficulties enabling them to become independent. One sheltered accommodation organisation had worked with their tenants to make a sensory garden that sounded amazing. Listening to the stories gave us some inspiration on how we can develop our services further.
Although we didn’t win any awards it was an honour to be shortlisted and to be in the same room as some of these organisations.
If you would like to find out how we can Go the Extra Mile for you or a member of your family please call us on 01449 763086.