Belong Atherton nurses scoop awards treble
Nurses at Atherton’s leading dementia specialist, Belong, are celebrating a treble of accolades after a flurry of prestigious local and industry award wins.
The Mealhouse Lane care village has been crowned Care Setting of the Year at the Wigan Borough Palliative and End of Life Care Learning Hub Awards by Wigan & Leigh Hospice for supporting older people to enjoy later lives in a caring community.
At the same time, village nurse manager Paul Woodcock was named Nurse of the Year, having scooped the Social Care Nurse accolade at the North West regional Great British Care Awards. Judges heralded the 41 year old for ‘delivering exemplary complex care ... and making a profound difference for individuals and the wider care community’.
The wins mark resounding endorsements for Belong’s community nursing-style approach which sees residents ‘age in place’ thanks to its nurses working across the whole village, rather than relocating residents within their home, as is typically found in care settings.
A bumper year for Paul, this summer saw him designated a Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Nursing Workforce Standards Champion after successfully implementing its recommended workforce standards, with bosses describing his leadership as ‘brilliant, compassionate, and deeply inspiring’. He joins its network of circa 100 standards champions working with senior nurse leaders to drive standards and best practice across the nation’s nursing.
Belong Atherton general manager, Nicola Johnstone, said: “It is truly an achievement to receive finalist placements and wins at these awards. This year has been an exceptional time, especially for our nurses, having been recognised in their field by the respective government department as we support the development of the workforce of the future.”
Earlier in 2025, the Belong Atherton nurse team was awarded the Chief Nurse for Social Care Team Award. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) recognised its outstanding contribution to social care through supporting training of student allied health professionals in collaboration with Greater Manchester universities.