A volunteer carer at Sowerby House care home in Thirsk has been named winner of the Unpaid Carer of The Year Award at the Great North East Care Awards 2019. Tom Harrison, who has mild autism, was praised by judges for doing “incredibly well.”
On Thursday 14th November, more than 300 of the very best in social care attended the awards ceremony at Gosforth Park, Newcastle, for the finals of the Great North East Care Awards, where the category winners were announced.
As a winner of the Great North East Care Awards, Tom will go through to the final at Birmingham’s ICC on 20th March 2020.
Members of staff at Sowerby House commended Tom for his enthusiastic approach to all his work, detailing that he embraced each task that was assigned to him.
As a result of Tom’s hard work, he is now a permanent member of staff as Sowerby House has employed him as a kitchen assistant at the care home.
The Care Home’s nomination for Tom read: “Tom was a volunteer at Sowerby House, part of Larchwood Care. Despite living with mild autism Tom took to volunteering at Sowerby incredibly well.
“He quickly struck up a lovely rapport with residents and staff and we all really enjoyed his company. Tom never shied away from a job and turned his hand to everything, from distributing meals and cups of tea to even getting his head around the paperwork.
“Tom also embraced the activities programme and helped out at any opportunity. Staff and residents at Sowerby House have become very fond of Tom and will miss him not being around. We all wish him well for his exciting new future.”
Tom said: “I am so grateful and proud to have won this award, especially from such a prestigious awards ceremony! I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to volunteer at Sowerby House and I am thrilled to have been offered a job! It is a great team; both the staff and residents are fantastic.”
Katie Hodgson, Manager of Sowerby House care home, said: “Tom was an asset to the team, he is hard working, fantastic company and always made sure he did the best he could to support the residents. He deserves this award for all his hard work and his amazing attitude. I wish him all the best in the future.”
Sowerby House forms part of Larchwood Care and is managed by Healthcare Management Solutions. 83% of Larchwood Care Homes are rated as ‘Good’ or above by the CQC, above the industry average.
