Wigan-carer shortlisted for national home care award

Wigan carer shortlisted for national home care award

Sharon Haigh, a community support worker for Belong at Home Wigan, has been recognised as a national finalist in the Stars of Social Care Awards 2024.

Shortlisted for Inspirational Home Care Worker of the Year, she will be heading to London along with colleagues from affiliated domiciliary care service, Belong at Home Warrington, which has two shortlistings; one for team leader, Nicola Hewitt, who is in the running for the Fabulous Frontline Leader Award, and one for community support worker, Julie Hooper, who is up for the reducing social isolation award.

Andrew Shield, business manager at Belong at Home, said: “We’re delighted that the exceptional dedication of our colleagues has been recognised in this way and wish Sharon, Nicola and Julie all the very best for the finals.”

Sharon is no stranger to the limelight, having won the Great North West Care Award for Home Care Worker of the Year in 2022.

“I’m truly humbled to have been nominated for this award,” says Sharon. “It’s a real privilege for me to be able to support our customers in maintaining their independence and interests, and the trusting relationships we build is incredibly rewarding in itself.”

Belong at Home places real emphasis on colleague reward and recognition. It is a Gold accredited Investor in People, one of only 19% of accredited organisations nationwide to attain the Gold standard, and it pays colleagues of all ages the Real Living Wage or above as part of a generous reward and benefits package.

Andrew explains: “We’ve grown our service based on the quality of our people. It’s vital to us that every recruit shares our values of compassion, dignity and putting our customers at the heart of everything we do. We then provide extensive training and support to ensure we apply innovative thinking and best practice to our service.

“It’s an approach that’s served us well and helped us maintain our position as one of the Top 20 home care providers in the country.”

The Top 20 Award is a ranking produced by homecare.co.uk – a reviews website for home care providers – and the score is based on independently verified customers reviews.

Belong at Home has consistently featured in the Top 20 for six years running and last year was confirmed to have topped the table, taking the number one spot, with an average review score of 9.8 out of 10 across its services.

The winners of the Stars of Social Care Awards will be announced at a gala dinner hosted by ITV This Morning presenter, Josie Gibson, on Friday 14 June at the Regent’s Park Marriott Hotel in London.