Best Outstanding Contribution First Quarter 2023 and April Outstanding Contributions 🎉
In May we celebrated the winner of our “Best Outstanding Contribution First Quarter 2023” award.
This is a reward scheme we launched in 2022, which saw night care assistant Rosie Bethell crowned our first ever “Best Outstanding Contribution of the Year” in 2022.
We take the best Outstanding Contribution nominations for a quarter (January – March) and ask people to vote for the best nomination.
The winner for January – March 2023 is… Andrea Field!
Andrea was nominated by a family member for the following:
“One weekend I visited my husband at lunchtime and just as I was helping him with his lunch, I suddenly got a nasty migraine. You were our helper, so I asked if you would mind giving him his pudding (he does enjoy his pudding!) You didn’t bat an eyelid and straight away fed him with your usual patience and kindness. By then, It was well past 1300, and we found that you should have been off and your father was waiting outside to pick you up. Someone else appeared and offered to take over, but you said you didn’t mind finishing the job and that your father wouldn’t mind waiting. I know that you must have started an early shift and must have had a busy morning and would have been looking forward to finishing but I must say, you were so patient and kind with both my husband and myself. I really appreciated it.”

It was a fantastic nomination and we are extremely proud of Andrea!

“Highly Commended” nominations for the first quarter of 2023 were:
Sophie Farrell (head chef) – Not only have you made such a positive impact since returning, but you cooked the most amazing Christmas dinner, arguably the best Castleford has ever seen. You’re amazing. The support you showed another department was amazing. Your help meant I managed to finish on time. Your folding skills are fantastic – thank you again!

Holly Gardiner (care/kitchen assistant) – In the short time you have been here, you have settled in extremely well and become a solid member of the team. You are brilliant towards the residents, always having their best interests in mind and have gotten to know them well. You stood up for a resident who has specific dietary requirements and ensured she had suitable food when others might not have accommodated this. You are extremely kind and thoughtful and the team is lucky to have you. You always put the residents needs first, no matter how busy you are. One lunchtime you persevered with a resident who wouldn’t sit down to eat and made sure that person had a full meal.

Sarah Jones (care assistant) – You have shown such admirable passion towards promoting, encouraging and developing a positive and healthy sleep routine for two residents. I feel that you took the lead of this and showed and amazing amount of initiative whilst working in a person-centred way. Some amazing, positive changes have been made to people’s sleep routines and it’s fantastic to see such a good impact on people’s wellbeing.

Thomas Pidgeon (kitchen assistant) – You have come out of your shell and are really good with the residents, willing to help if they need assistance. You are always going above and beyond for the residents. You will assist people however needed – for example, on the floor with one resident to ensure he eats his meal. You spend your break times with the residents.

Amelia Pace (head of lifestyles) – You have gone above and beyond for my husband and our family. Not only did you take him ice skating in his wheelchair (I thought it was bonkers but it worked out amazingly well!), now you have just recently gone that extra mile for my special birthday and did a super framed set of photographs of us and our family. You researched my Facebook photos and found some really special photos. It really is so special and thoughtful and just made me cry! I know that you are equally caring with everyone in the home and gets to really understand and bring out the best in all of the residents. The dining room is beautiful, now. Everyone who lives here enjoys their meals so much more. You put so much time into this. Thank you. You are always thinking outside the box and your new ideas to help the care team are incredible and work very well. Well done!

Kat Sadzikowska (care assistant) – You took time out of your day to reassure and listen to me, as I have some personal problems. You didn’t judge me, you listened to me carefully whilst providing validation and reassurance that I wasn’t on my own. Your approach was kind, compassionate and empathetic and I’m really grateful.
Castleford House are extremely proud of every single person in the team and thankful to everyone for their hard work and dedication!
After giving out our “Best Outstanding Contribution First Quarter 2023” award in May, we then gave out April’s Outstanding Contribution awards. We saw two excellent nominations for people who went out of their way to help and support to the team!

Laura Gardiner (training lead/care assistant) – You have been very supportive and caring during some recent problems I have had. You have remained confidential and I feel that I can go to you in future, even if it’s just for a talk.
Lauren Roberts (senior carer) – The support you gave me on 17th April was out of this world. You held it together – top senior!