Star employees at borough care villages recognised

Kelly Haddock, the lead senior support worker at Belong Atherton, took home the mentoring award, with the judges praising her for proactively seeking development opportunities for herself and others.

Her colleague Christine Thomas, the village’s bistro and catering manager, won the Innovation award for her pursuit of new initiatives to improve hospitality provisions at the village.

And Lisa Wynne, a recently-qualified nurse at Belong’s Platt Bridge facility, was named newcomer of the year, with the judges commenting on her enthusiasm for her role as well as how she has embraced Belong’s values.

The ceremony had to be held online for the first time due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Awarding Christine her prize, the judges said: “Christine believes that because the world doesn’t stand still, Belong can’t either. She embraces change and innovation and makes improvements happen, for all customers and staff.”

Praising newcomer Lisa, the panel concluded: “Lisa takes time to get to know the residents and takes part in some of the fun activities so that they can get to know her.

“Building up trust and creating a bond with residents and staff is very important to her. She feels that this makes it easier when having to carry out clinical interventions.”

The three successful employees were handed their trophies at their respective care villages.

Belong villages across the North West, which employ over 1,000 people, were brought together for the ceremony, with colleagues, customers and relatives watching and cheering on village teams online.

In total, 32 finalists in 12 categories were recognised during the event, in roles ranging from housekeepers and bistro assistants to support workers in the villages and the wider community.

The winners were chosen by an independent judging panel following a rigorous assessment process, including in-depth interviews with candidates.

Belong’s People and Development Manager, Tim Kirk, added: “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.”

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