Carer’s innovative work to help dementia sufferers wins award
A SOUTH Yorkshire care worker has won an award for her dementia initiative which pairs up youngsters and care home residents.
Heather Sherratt, a support worker with national adult health and social care charity Making Space, has been named care innovator of the year in the Great Yorkshire and Humber Care Awards.
She was given the accolade for the work she does for people living with dementia.
Heather set up a group called Random Acts of Kindness, which has resulted in local Scout and Beaver groups visiting elderly people living in residential care.
Residents discuss their life stories with the children and the youngsters then make personalised cards and small gifts for them which they deliver during a second visit.
The group has been piloted with the 9th Rotherham Rawmarsh group and the Abbeys Care Centre nursing home, but Heather hopes to roll it out across the region.
Heather, from Rawmarsh, Rotherham, said: “I wanted to do something that would benefit both children and older people, particularly those living with dementia. There are 25 scout groups in Rotherham and 34 residential settings.
“The idea is to pair each scout group with a residential home.”
The Great Yorkshire and Humber Care Awards are part of the Great British Care Awards, a series of nine regional awards celebrating excellence across the care sector.
The awards promote best practice within both home care and care home sectors, and pay tribute to those individuals who have demonstrated outstanding excellence within their field of work.
Making Space chief executive Rachel Peacock said: “We are extremely proud of Heather. She’s shown repeatedly that she is committed to improving the lives of the people she works with, and she works tirelessly to come up with new and innovative ways to ensure people with dementia live full and happy lives.”