ECL Service Manager wins National Care Award for excellence in Dementia Care

Sherry was presented with the award for ‘Dementia Care Manager’ the National Care Awards ceremony on Saturday the 26^th of November.

Sherry was nominated for the fantastic improvements she has made to the centre to make it an outstanding, dementia friendly home from home.

Speaking of the win, Sherry says: “I am so thrilled to have won this award. I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved here at Marylands in the last two years. We have an amazing team at the service, and this win is testament to their commitment to providing person-centred care and delivering excellent dementia support to our customers and their loved ones.”

The National Care Awards Dementia Care Manager category recognises outstanding service managers in older peoples’ services with more than 50% of customers living with dementia.

Customers like the late Shirley Hawes, who attended ECL Marylands until she sadly passed away earlier this month. Shirley’s husband John, who provided a testimonial as part of the nomination, said: “As far as I’m concerned Sherry has made Marylands the great place it is today. I can’t express enough how Sherry’s expertise in dementia care has improved things. She’s so deserving of this award; I’ve never come across anyone like her at all - she’s one in a million! Her door is always open, she always has time for me if I need to discuss anything. She’s got a heart of gold and really cares about people, and it shows in everything she’s done for the centre. I’m so grateful for all the help Sherry gave me and my late wife Shirley.”

Watch John and Shirley’s story: youtu.be/cvYg-LeKoZk

Now in its 24^th year, the National Care Awards celebrate the very best people in the long-term care sector. Organised by leading social care publication, Caring Times Magazine, the awards were devised to highlight excellence and reward those who work tirelessly to provide consistently outstanding care.

Kate Ferris, ECL Day Opportunities Older People Area Manager mid and north Essex said: “This national recognition is an amazing achievement and is very well deserved. In just two years Sherry has been instrumental in making some amazing changes to the centre to improve the customer experience and ensure it is on track to achieve DSDC Gold Accreditation standards. She embodies ECL’s ethos of person-centred care and consistently goes above and beyond for her customers and her team. Sherry is an excellent manager who leads by example and is a great mentor. Her positivity is infectious and she always has a listening ear for customers and their families.”

View all of the 2022 National Care Awards winners caring-times.co.uk/national-care-awards/winners-2022/

Take a tour of ECL Colchester – Marylands with Sherry: youtube.com/watch?v=9norTzVU4w4

For more information about ECL’s services for older people and people living with dementia visit ecl.org/services/older-people-day-service/dementia-support