Making Space are finalists for three national awards.

Postponed from March 2020, the national awards ceremony will be a virtual event with nominees logging in to watch and see if they are successful.

The Great British Care Awards are a series of regional events throughout the UK and are a celebration of excellence across the care sector. The purpose of the awards are to pay tribute to those individuals who have demonstrated outstanding excellence within their field of work.

Winners of the regional awards are then finalists for the national award ceremony and this year we are lucky enough to in the running for 3 awards.

Facilities assistant, Neil O’Toole, is a finalist for The Ancillary Worker award, having won the regional award in the North West region in October 2019.

Neil is a former civil engineering and construction business owner started working for us in 2011 and hasn’t looked back. He said: “I get a lot of pleasure from doing very simple things, because I can see the difference it makes to people’s lives. Working on big outdoor jobs, on bridges and in sewers, with my previous company was anonymous.

“Here, I’m being welcomed into people’s homes and personal spaces, and I see how happy what I’m doing makes them. People are so genuine when they thank me – something as simple as hanging a picture brings a joy and appreciation that’s wonderful to experience. And it’s every day.”

Derby City Dementia service are finalists for The Home Care Team Award after winning the award in the East Midlands region in November 2019.

The eight-strong team of dementia advisers provides a vital lifeline for local families, holding monthly meet ups at venues around Derby. Before the pandemic, they ran 14 different dementia friendly activity sessions every month as well as supporting families at the point of diagnosis.

Mary Brown, team leader, Derby City Dementia Service, “The team and our amazing volunteers support people with dementia right from the beginning of their journey. We believe that with the correct support, people with dementia can live well and more independently for longer.

“We help families with forward planning, with maximising household benefits, looking holistically around the needs of the person with dementia and the needs of their carers and families, and aid everyone to understand what a diagnosis of dementia means. We are here to make sure people keep living life to the full.”

A diverse team of volunteers from our Doncaster Carers Outreach service were named unpaid carers of the year at the Great Yorkshire & Humber Care regional finals.

The team, who were recognised for the work they do to keep a local carers social group thriving and growing each week, are finalists in the national awards.

Between them, the women speak eight languages: Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi, Arabic, French, Bulgarian, Polish and English. They travel from all over Doncaster to volunteer their time and experience.

Carer Support Worker, Rosemary, said: “It’s a very active group, and the members are very supportive of each other. Some of the carers haven’t been out of Doncaster, and there are a lot of people within the community who aren’t able to get out because of their caring responsibilities. Our volunteers make sure there’s something for everyone to enjoy and look forward to every week, as well as giving them training and information to help them with their daily lives and care duties.

“They were so thrilled to be recognised with this award. As a group, they’re just happy to be able to support each other, so they were amazed to be nominated for an award, let alone to win it.”

Good luck teams!