Awards to recognise and celebrate the work of North Yorkshire Council’s public health and adult social care teams have been handed out this month.
Each of the 21 prize winners received a certificate for their achievement but also the gift of a small tree, continuing the work that the council did earlier this year to plant eight covid memorial trees across the county to remember the people North Yorkshire lost to Covid-19.
The tree trail was established for all of those who have suffered during the pandemic and to thank colleagues and communities who have contributed so much.
North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for health and adult services, Cllr Michael Harrison, said: “The awards scheme was put on hold through Covid-19, so this was our first opportunity since then to recognise the extraordinary work done by our officers to improve the health and wellbeing of people in North Yorkshire.
“They go above and beyond for the people and our communities – I am proud of all our staff but especially the 143 individual and 40 team nominees who are providing a top rate service to our county.”
This year there were several new awards including the corporate director’s award and the outstanding leadership team award. The corporate director for health and adult services, Richard Webb, handed over his award to Cath McCarty who retires this month after 33 years with the authority working within health and adult services as the head of human resources.
The outstanding leadership award was shared by public health manager Emma Davis, and Rachel Murphy from the social care mental health service. It was Emma’s idea to plant the eight memorial trees and she worked hard to bring that proposal to fruition. She was also recognised for her work on sexual health and women’s health. Rachel has played an instrumental role in developing social care mental health services and getting more frontline colleagues involved in research and evaluation.
The leadership team award went to Mike Rudd and the extra care housing team, in recognition of the 20th anniversary of Extra Care housing in North Yorkshire, which has delivered 28 schemes countywide, with more than 1,500 apartments and bungalows to rent or buy.
The awards were made at a special event at the Pavilions in Harrogate presented by BBC Radio York’s Joanita Musisi.
The awards are:
Corporate director’s award:
· Cath McCarty, the retiring head of human resources: for her tireless commitment to social care and public health and most recently, a major push on recruitment and retention, during her 33 years working for local government in North Yorkshire.
Inspirational teamwork: To recognise where a team has demonstrated great teamwork, support, resilience and effectiveness to achieve their goals and through this have made a difference to people’s lives or to the quality and effectiveness of the service delivered.
· Silver Birches Elderly Persons Home Team: For brilliant teamwork in the development of their intermediate care beds for people being discharged from hospital.
Innovation and change: To recognise a team or individual that has come up with an innovative way to solve a problem or make an improvement in their service or who have championed change to ensure success.
· Integrated Quality Team: For implementing a new way of tracking and addressing poor quality or concerns in care homes, through the use of a QR code to enable immediate feedback.
Promoting diversity and inclusivity: Anew award category to recognise ongoing work to be a more inclusive service.
· Tracy Knowles: For her work to promote best practice for working with people from different backgrounds and for working alongside colleagues from minority ethnic backgrounds to ensure their voices and experiences are heard.
- Vicky Wareham: For embedding good equality, diversity and inclusivity practice for both colleagues and people who use services.
Making a difference where we live: Anew award to recognise the impact on the quality of life or wellbeing for a group of people through their work on a project, in or outside work.
· Selby reablement care and support workers: Instead of buying cards and presents for each other, staff created a fundraiser to provide presents for local children who may not get a gift for Christmas.
· The supported employment team, Melanie Trotter and the autism accreditation group within care provider services: For their work on being one of the first councils to secure independent national Autism accreditation.
Reduce/re-use/recycle: A new award to highlight the importance of the best use of resources to reduce environmental impact.
- Milestone House Team: for their work on recycling.
Customer excellence: To recognise how the people of North Yorkshire are consistently a top priority.
· Kayleigh McGovern and the Larpool Lane Kitchen: For the excellent activities that they initiate at Larpool Lane care home in Whitby, including a seven-day virtual cruise week for residents, which involved food and entertainment from different countries.
- Claire Bradbury: For her work on safeguarding.
Making the most of the new council: to celebrate the achievement that bringing together North Yorkshire Council has helped to facilitate the links to other services, such as housing and leisure.
· Elaine Hewitt: For her work with other departments such as housing, leisure, economic development and others to improve how the council works together to help adults with severe mental health issues.
· The joint work of the health and adult services and community development directorates on housing adaptations: Claire Bell, Jill Ellerton and Lynn Williams for the work they did with housing partners to develop a new minor adaptations service for older and disabled people, which starts in 2024.
Contribution to health initiatives, including Covid-19 protection: To recognise where actions have informed, educated, promoted, protected or improved the health of the community.
· Hambleton/Richmondshire Home First Team: The service has seen some amazing outcomes for people at a time when they feel at their most vulnerable as they are discharged from hospital.
Extra Care Housing 20: To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first Extra Care housing scheme in North Yorkshire.
· Popplewell Springs Extra Care Housing Team: for helping residents to be more confident and independent.
Workforce development: Torecognise the positive impacts on ways of working and the development of the workforce.
· Ruth Austen, Anna Finch and the health and adult services academy team: The council has recruited 28 new social workers from South Africa and Zimbabwe. The team provided their new colleagues with the best possible opportunity to adapt to UK’s laws and legislation and the council’s ways of working, as well as helping them to get to know local communities.
Making a difference behind the scenes: To recognise non-frontline roles which enable health and adult services colleagues to improve service delivery through their excellent support.
· Amanda Jacques: Reviewed every single entry of data in the liquid logic adults system for home-based support and community-based support services to ensure better value for money and more timely payment of care providers.
· Mortality data subgroup: Improving our learning from the patterns and factors contributing to premature death of individuals facing multiple disadvantage, with the aim of preventing deaths where possible.
Outstanding leadership: To recognise someone who consistently demonstrates the organisation’s leadership principles, is passionate about engaging people and inspiring others to achieve outcomes.
· Emma Davis: For her inspirational idea to plant trees in memory of Covid-19 victims and her work on sexual health and women’s health, as well as her passion for her local community in Wensleydale.
· Rachel Murphy: For championing mental health and social care research.
The health and adult services leadership team award: To recognise a team that the health and adult services leadership team particularly want to publicly celebrate and recognise.
· Mike Rudd and the Extra Care housing team: To recognise the leadership which has led to the provision of 28 Extra Care housing schemes over the past 20 years.
