Sunderland care home worker wins top award

Denise Collier, support worker at Laverneo care home in Pennywell, has been named as the winner in the care home worker catergory in the Great British Care Awards for the North East.

Denise, who is retiring in November, has worked at Laverneo since 1996, caring for people with a range of physical and learning disabilities.

During her time at the home, Denise has taken up a variety of different roles, including helping to build relationships with people in her care and taken responsibility for taking residents on trips, planning daily activities and mentoring and training new staff.

She said: “I am delighted to have won this award, and it couldn’t have been done without the fantastic team at Laverneo.

“I have spent my entire 46-year career working in care, with 26 of those years at Laverneo, and it has been a passion of mine to do the work I do.

"Not a single day has really felt like work. I feel incredibly lucky to have spent much of my life to caring for others.”

John Godden, chief executive of Salutem Care and Education, said: “On behalf of the whole Salutem family, I’d like to congratulate Denise for this extraordinary recognition.

“Denise and the team at Laverneo’s dedication has really come to the fore over the past 18 months when they have gone above and beyond to offer every opportunity for the people we support to live their best lives.”