A team from a care home in Gwent has been named Best Care Team at a national a national awards ceremony that celebrates excellence in the care sector.

The team, from Cwmcelyn in Blaina, was awarded the title at Shaw healthcare’s annual Shaw Star Awards and beat off competition from other care teams across the UK. The team was chosen for its commitment to improving standards at the home and developing better relationships with its key stakeholders across the whole community.

Manager of Cwmcelyn Simon Morgan said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have been named the Best Care Team at this year’s awards.

“It has been a challenging couple of years for Cwmcelyn, but we have come out the other side and have a team that holds excellent values, has regained trust of health professionals and the local community, and, most importantly, is passionate about delivering the highest standard of care to our service users.

“I’d like to thank everyone in the team that has worked so hard to help us achieve this award, and I know that winning it will only spur us on to continue to maintain and improve our standards of care.”

Andrew Swales, an IT system developer based at Shaw healthcare’s head office in St Mellons, near Newport, was presented with the Central Support Award at the awards.

The Central Support Award recognises the contribution made by Shaw’s central support services, such as finance, HR, property and commercial services, in support of colleagues who deliver services. Previously a finalist at the awards, Andrew has developed a bespoke e-learning portal and rota planning system, and is always works with patience and determination. His colleagues described him as 'friendly, loyal, always supportive, extremely hard-working and nothing is too much trouble'.

Mr Swales said: “This award has come as a complete surprise. My work very much takes place behind the scenes so it is great to be recognised in this way, although the wellbeing of our service users is, of course, the most important thing.

“There is a great team of people at Shaw who continuously work to achieve high standards and the awards are a celebration of the hard work everyone puts in over the year.”

Jeremy Nixey, chief executive at Shaw healthcare, said: “Our annual Star Awards seek to recognise the individuals across all of Shaw healthcare’s services who have demonstrated excellence in their day-to-day work during the course of the year. These individuals are people who inspire others and deliver beyond expectations.

“Now in their sixth year, we are proud of the contribution that our staff across the company make to the quality of life for the vulnerable people in our care. The nominations for the awards come from colleagues, but more importantly from the people we care for and from their relatives and friends. This makes the awards all the more special.”