Posted 27/07/2021

Care and Specialist Accommodation Team Win ‘Home Care Team Award’

Swan Housing Associations’ Rapid Response Team, which enables people who are in need of care and support to remain independent for as long as possible while living in their own home, has taken home the trophy for The Home Care Team Award at The Great British Care Awards, South East Regional Awards for 2020 which were held at The Hilton Hotel, Brighton on Friday (23 July 2021). The team will now progress to the national finals, in September, that pay tribute to organisations and individuals who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in the care sector.

Among hundreds of other worthy UK-wide entries, Swan impressed the judges with their ‘personalised approach, customer satisfaction, clear and positive outcomes’ in the ‘Home Care Team’ category which recognises the team that best demonstrates a shared vision and agreed goals. It includes teams with a responsible team leader, an excellent communication process and where each member’s skill set is recognised. Demonstrating a commitment to dignity and privacy for clients and respect for team members is also paramount within this category.

The team behind Swan’s Care and Specialist Accommodation, share a vision of delivering the best possible customer experience to over 2,000 clients that use their domiciliary care service, which is dedicated to ensuring that everyone has ‘Somewhere to Feel at Home’.

Teams are supported to become champions specialising in different areas, such as Safeguarding, End of Life and Dementia to name a few. Champions use their specialist knowledge to support their customers and peers to ensure everyone receives care of the highest standard.  

Swan’s rapid response service received an overall rating of ‘outstanding’ from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for its rapid response care service in Colchester following a review carried out by the CQC inspection team in December 2019. Described by inspectors as ‘innovative’ it also noted how customers are treated with respect and their privacy ensured.

Shani Levy, Director of Care and Specialist Accommodation said: “The team and I are so proud that Swan Care Norths Rapid Response Team have won this award. During what has been an extremely tough year for the social care sector -  with staff shortages due to isolation and extra pressure on the NHS - the whole team has really pulled together; covering extra shifts to ensure people were safely discharged from hospital or supported to stay at home, plus providing emotional support to colleagues and customers. Our team culture is something we pride ourselves on and it’s this type of recognition that encourages us to go above and beyond.”

Scorecards from the last month (June 2021) indicated that customer satisfaction is 100%, training compliance is 98.3% and all appointments are kept – and these scores are typical for the team, which ensures that customers’ needs are always met.

Swan’s rapid response service is just one of a range of care and support services provided by the Essex and East London based housing association.

The Great British Care Awards are a series of regional events held throughout the UK. The 2020 award ceremony was delayed due to the Covid-19. The regional winners are now being announced and the national finals will be held on Saturday 25 September 2021 at The ICC, Birmingham.