Debbie Day from Cedars Care Home has won the coveted National Palliative Care/End of Life Award at this year’s Great British Care Awards.
These awards celebrate excellence across the sector, promoting best practice within the care home industry and lauding the contribution of outstanding individuals.
This is the fifth time that Debbie, who has worked at Southend-based Cedars for nearly nine years, has won an award for her work as the home’s End of Life Lead. This difficult and responsible role involves the planning and co-ordination of end-of-life-care, ensuring that residents’ final wishes are upheld, supporting their families and communicating with medical professionals. Cedars Care Home has been accredited as part of the National Gold Standards Framework, which sets out the required standard of care for people nearing the end of their life.
“It is such an honour to have won this award. The Great British Care Awards are an amazing team that celebrates all the positives in care,” says Debbie. “Everyone at Cedars has a part to play and a connection to palliative and end-of-life care, so this award celebrates the whole team. It is an honour to look after someone who is end of life, giving them the right care at the right time so that they have a dignified and loving passing. We also work hard to support the family and leave them memories of love.”
In the judges’ view, Head of Activities Debbie outshone all the other excellent candidates. They said: “She had a clear passion for ensuring a good death. She described how she would hold a person close and take them through a memory to calm them if they showed fear near the end of life. She goes above expected performance, staying in her own time with those she cares for while in hospital. Every care home needs a Debbie. When our time comes, we want a Debbie!”
A delighted Victor Zingoni, Cedars’ Home Manager says: “I’m immensely proud of Debbie for winning the national Palliative Care/End of Life Award this year. She has represented Cedars in this category for over five years and has won the regional award three times and the national twice.
“But we must not forget that the award also celebrates all the valuable work done by the staff at Cedars to ensure that the home provides a positive end-of-life experience for our residents and their families. This achievement is even more impressive considering that we are living through a pandemic.”
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