Winners at the South East Care Awards 2018

Acorn Court wins the Palliative Care and End of Life Team Award at the South East Care Awards.

Members of the team received their award at a Gala Dinner held at the Amex Stadium in Brighton on November 3^rd. The awards form part of the Great British Care Awards and the home will now progress to the National Finals in March 2019.

The purpose of the awards are to pay tribute to those individuals and teams who have demonstrated outstanding excellence in their field of work.

Home manager, Monica Prosser said: We have invested heavily in training for this most important of services. Traditionally end of life patient care was focussed on cancer, rather than dementia. But through our collaborative work with St Catherine’s Hospice and Brighton University, end stage dementia has now been recognised as a palliative illness. My wonderful team have won this award in recognition of their exceptional approach to care and support for people approaching this stage in their lives.

A notable element of Acorn Court’s submission for the award, was their care for relatives after bereavement. The Redhill care home runs a Friends of Acorn group to help relatives – including those of ex-residents – meet others facing similar situations. There is also a monthly Sunday lunch get together arranged by the team at local pubs for those who have lost loved ones to encourage friendship groups and avoid isolation and loneliness.

The team were also awarded the Gold Standards Framework accreditation this year, which ensures best practice in end of life care.