The finalists of the Worcestershire Health and Social Care Awards 2022 have been announced.

The awards are being staged by Newsquest – publishers of the Worcester News, Malvern Gazette, Evesham Journal, Bromsgrove & Droitwich and Redditch Advertisers and The Shuttle in conjunction with the University of Worcester.

Judging is now complete, and the three finalists of the Care Trainer category can be revealed.

The Care Trainer award is kindly sponsored by Cinnamon Care Collection – an exclusive group of luxury care homes and retirement developments in beautiful locations throughout the country where the health, well-being and comfort of residents is the number one priority.

The awards will culminate in a celebrity-backed virtual ceremony streamed on the Worcester News Facebook page on Thursday, October 13 at 7pm when the winner of each category will be announced.”

Kelly Dews - St John's Court Nursing Home

Our first finalist is Kelly Dews who works at St John’s Court Nursing Home in Bromsgrove, part of the Amica Care Trust.

Kelly is described as a “hard-working individual” who dedicates “all of her time” to supporting the home.

She is responsible for welcoming and training new staff and her colleagues say she goes “above and beyond” to ensure everyone feels supported in their role and understands what is required of them.

She also dedicates her own time to providing training, coming in late in the evening or weekends, “without a grumble”.

Kelly’s efforts have seen her progress to be named head of training, but perhaps the greatest tribute to her hard work is the performance of the team around her.

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, she worked to ensure everyone was kept up to date with forever-changing legislation, as well as delivering all the mandatory training along the way.

Training team - Heritage Manor

The second finalist is the training team at Heritage Manor.

Heritage Manor owns and operates a group of award-winning homes throughout the country, including The Lawns in Kempsey, Astley Hall in Stourport and Summerdyne in Bewdley.

The training team, led by training manager Charlie Bitchenor, had to adapt the way they worked during the coronavirus pandemic.

Using applications such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams, the training team were able to ensure that all staff received their mandatory training as well as allowing them to spend plenty of time with new trainees to provide a higher level of support.

Among the team's achievements is the development and launch of the Heritage Manor Care Certificate, developing training fact sheets that are available to all who require them.

Clare Wilcox - Coast 2 Coast Care

The third finalist comes from Coast 2 Coast Care, a family-run, Worcester-based company with over 25 years of experience that helps with recruitment in the care and nursing sector.

Clare Wilcox is responsible for delivering training for the company, having spent over eight years providing training for both the NHS and the private sector.

Her colleagues say she has been “instrumental” in helping Coast 2 Coast achieve its training requirements.

This includes implementing courses in line with the Care Certificate, which she delivers with “expertise in a fun, friendly, and inclusive” way.

Clare draws upon her 20 years of experience in the sector to help trainees understand their roles and what is expected of them.

By training more than 60 members of the Coast 2 Coast Care workforce, she has helped the company deliver quality, temporary, staffing solutions to a number of care homes and support services in the county.