‘Home of the Year’ award and more for Belong Atherton

Belong Atherton, celebrated three wins at the Hospice in Your Care Home Awards 2018, organised by Wigan and Leigh Hospice (WLH). The awards, open to care homes in Wigan and Leigh that are part of WLH’s scheme, recognise high-quality end-of-life care provided by local care workers.
Gemma Willetts, experience coordinator for Belong Atherton, was awarded Non-Clinical Staff Member of the Year, while Lead Senior Support Worker, Julia Cross, was awarded Staff Member of the Year. This award was specially chosen by patients and their families, and was presented by resident Barbara Wheeler. The care village also won the Home of the Year award, which was shared with Richmond House in Leigh.
Commenting on the awards, Gemma Willets said: “We had a wonderful time at the Hospice Awards. The evening was fabulous and it was really lovely to celebrate the hard work of our staff, many of whom received nominations.”
Hospice in Your Care Home, which has been running since November 2015, trains staff to provide sensitive, timely, and compassionate palliative care.
In 2016, Belong Atherton passed rigorous assessment of its standards of end of life care to achieve Gold Standards Framework (GSF) accreditation by the national organisation responsible for training and quality standards in the sector. They were awarded the Quality Hallmark Award for demonstrating excellence in care standards and showcasing examples of best practice in end of life care.

Back L-R: CQC Inspector John Almond, Christine Thomas, Julia Cross, Stacy Lamb, Sandra Brigden, Janet Tomlinson, Caroline Newton. Front L-R: Meghan Mille Bradbury, Gemma Willetts, Alison Light, Nicola Johnstone, Vicky Mulholland, Kelly Ratchford