no.303 • £4.75 incorporating
April 2022
The Number One magazine for the care sector
Wales’ unsung heroines and heroes sought A SEARCH has been launched to find the unsung heroes and heroines of social care in Wales who have “risen magnificently” to the challenge of the Covid-19 pandemic. Entries are being sought for the 2022 Wales Care Awards to honour the skill and devotion of people working in social care looking after vulnerable children and adults. The event is making a return after being cancelled during the last two years because of the pandemic The awards were introduced by Care Forum Wales to inspire excellence in the care sector. Mario Kreft MBE, chair of Care Forum Wales and founder of the Wales Care Awards, said: “Care Forum Wales is engaged at every level in trying to raise the status of the social care profession and in particular the value to society of the many thousands of social care workers who provide such an important service to communities across Wales. “The Wales Care Awards is now firmly established as one of the highlights in the Welsh social care calendar, although over the past two years everything had to be put on hold because of the pandemic. “Front line staff working in care homes and in domiciliary care have been in the eye of the coronavirus storm, protecting the most vulnerable people in Wales
from the ravages of this virus. “The pandemic has caused unprecedented challenges and our fantastic workforce responded heroically, putting their own lives on the line to shield their beloved residents and staff.” This year’s event will take place at City Hall in Cardiff on Friday, October 21. The deadline for nominations is Friday, April 29. Anybody who has been nominated over the past two years will be automatically entered this time. Shortlisted finalists will receive a Gold, Silver or Bronze Wales Care Award and an invitation for themselves and a guest to the Oscars-style gala award ceremony. Mario added: “This is an opportunity to nominate the champions and ambassadors of social care and contribute to raising public awareness of the vital contribution of our sector, a contribution that has been even greater during the nightmare of the past two years. “It is occasions like the awards night that enables Care Forum Wales to recognise and celebrate such skills, talents and heroic commitment.” The event will be hosted by opera singer Wynne Evans, perhaps best known these days as Gio Compario, the moustachioed tenor from the Go Compare TV ads.
Downton Abbey star Hugh Bonneville has praised a new community meeting room sponsored by a Sussex care home. Hugh, who plays Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham in the popular historical drama, toured the Colten Care Wellington Grange learning room during his official unveiling of the newly restored Graylingwell Chapel in Chichester. The independent charity Chichester Community Development Trust has raised almost £2m to help transform the Chapel into a café, meeting and workshop rooms, with children’s play area and open space used by the community during the day, and functioning as an events space in the evenings. Hugh said: “It is a pleasure to see this very positive project brought to life.” Hugh Bonneville is pictured with Colten Care’s hotel services manager Fergus Davitt.
Care home hosts pop-up cat cafe A PAIR of fluffy felines were the headline attraction at a pop-up cat café that was organised for residents at a dementia care home in Wellington. Sibling kittens Mocha and Chino enjoyed a couple of hours being the centre of attention at Camelot House and Lodge, where they were taken by volunteers from St Giles Animal Centre in Wrantage, near Taunton. Richard Dempslake, activities co-ordinator for Camelot House and Lodge, said: “The kittens were running around and making our residents laugh, playing with their toys and being given
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