PerCurra Founder Part of Award Winning Project

The category was for people who develop initiatives specially to ensure older people received the best possible care and retain their health and independence and the ceremony announcing the results of 23 categories was live-streamed to an audience of around 2000 people.

The group, supported by the My Home Life charity, was started on 17th March this year and grew to 257 members in just two weeks. Members included individuals connected to the care sector who had the national expertise and local practice knowledge to help practitioners navigate the complex and sometimes conflicting guidance that care homes were receiving at the start of the pandemic.

The result of the ‘Care of Older People’ category was announced by Hilda Hayo, CEO of Dementia UK, who said: “The judges thought this was an innovative project that shone a light on the very neglected area over the COVID-19 pandemic. The judges were particularly impressed by the fact this was an initiative set up internally by staff, rather than an external source. It came from within, rather than from without. They said that the staff identified a problem and addressed it quickly. It was great to see it came from people who know. It was a very positive outcome from COVID-19 and brought together organisations, which wouldn’t have happened otherwise.”

Anita Astle MBE, Managing Director of Wren Hall Nursing Home in Nottingham, accepted the award on behalf of all involved and said “I’m absolutely delighted for everybody […] thank you so much, this means such a lot to us all”.

My Home Life promotes quality of life in care homes for older people. Whilst the Rayne Foundation kindly funded the development of the WhatsApp Group, the money is still being used as most people gave their time for free, including researchers from several other universities.