Dedication and humour puts Julie in line for care award

A CARE assistant from Merthyr Vale, whose dedication to the residents at a home has helped her overcome her own shyness, is in line for a top care award.

Julie Sheen, right, who works at Greenhill Manor Care Home in Merthyr Tydfil, is known for her lively, fun personality and uses her sense of humour to engage with the elderly residents.

The 59-year-old has now been shortlisted as a finalist at the prestigious 2019 Wales Care Awards, which aims to reward outstanding work in the social care sector.

But before starting her career in social care 11 years ago, Julie was actually quiet and shy.

“I used to be very shy and at times I still can be, but I really do think that working at Greenhill Manor has helped to bring me out of my own shell and grown my confidence,” the grandmother-offour explained.

Having previously worked parttime in a post office in Merthyr Vale before it closed, Julie had never considered a career in care work until she went for an interview at Greenhill Manor, a 120-bed care home that specialises in dementia care.

Julie, who has been married to Terrence for 40 years, now believes that her time at Greenhill and finding her vocation in a job she loves has helped her overcome her own shyness.

And she says it is her “silly sense of humour” and her love of the residents under her care that has been the key to her success.

“I never thought I would be able to do this type of job because I was so quiet, but I have always had a silly sense of humour and this has really come out in my work.”

Julie has been nominated in the Wales Care Awards’ Outstanding Service category, sponsored by the Silvercrest Group, and will attend the glittering ceremony at the City Hall in Cardiff on Friday, October 18.