Jo Neiles, Registered Manager of Optima Care’s Gate House and Eastry Villas, near Sandwich in Kent, is in the finals of the National Care Awards for the Learning Disability Service Manager category. The winners will be announced during a glittering awards ceremony at the Hilton London Metropole on 24th November 2017. The gala evening will be hosted by comedian, author, screenwriter and presenter David Baddiel.
Helping young adults
The submission was entered on behalf of Jo by senior management at Optima Care. It acknowledges her work in overseeing the reconfiguration of Gate House from a residential service to a young adult transition service for individuals with learning disabilities and complex needs, including challenging behavior. She also successfully inspired her staff team, ensuring that they are now engaged, empowered and loving what they do.
Praise from staff, families and social worker
Members of Jo’s staff team, along with parents of some of the youngsters they support and also a social worker submitted testimonials in support of the hard work of Jo and her team, praising her for being an inspiration for the team, creating an extended family for the people they support and their loved ones, plus achieving great outcomes.
Jo commented: “The written submission determined who would be invited to London for the judging day and I couldn’t believe it when I was picked. The judging day and face-to-face interview were nerve racking but at the same time a great experience. I’m really proud to have got this far, and moreover proud of my team and the people we support – they’re the real inspiration.”
Eddie Coombes, Chief Executive of Optima Care, added: “This is a national awards event that attracts representatives from some of the biggest care home operators across the UK. In other words, competition is tough! It’s an amazing achievement to reach the finals and we’re all immensely proud of Jo and her team. She’s achieved an awful lot in her relatively short time with Optima Care and has built a strong and engaged team that offers a service to be proud of.”
About the awards
The National Care Awards is the longest established annual awards and is organised by the Caring Times. The awards were devised to help celebrate the very best people in the long-term care sector, highlighting excellence and rewarding those who work tirelessly to provide consistently outstanding care.
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