Categories

There are 23 categories for care homes to enter, including the new Best Sustainability Initiative and Best for Care Home Development and five Gold awards for Outstanding Achievement. To arrive at their list of refinements and amendments to the category list, the independent, expert advisors, reviewing the categories, were asked to make sure that Winners and High Commendations would be able to use their success to communicate key attributes about their care home or group to potential new residents. As a result the category list is much clearer.

To avoid possible confusion we make a clear distinction between entries direct from care homes or care home groups and entries submitted via an agency. The direct entries are charged a fee for each block of five entries they make. The same is true for agencies submitting entries for one client. This changes, however, when an agency submits entries on behalf of different clients. Each different client will incur a fee for the agency for a block of five entries.

Care Home categories

Best for Communication and Use of Digital Channels
(with all stakeholders and for community engagement)

Best for Wellbeing – sponsored by Dispensing Centre
(including alternative therapies, non-clinical facilities and social, leisure
or inspirational activities to enrich residents’ lives)

Best for Use of Technology and Digital Care Strategy – presented by Care Home Management
(for the benefit of residents or staff, and including partnerships with technology companies or universities)

Best for Nutrition, Food and Dining – sponsored by Enhance Catering Recruitment

Best for Infection Control and Continuing Covid-19 Response – sponsored by Autumna
(including Infection prevention and control and safe visiting spaces)

Best Facilities Management, Maintenance or Housekeeping Team – sponsored by Mitre Linen

Best for Use of Care Management Software
(including personalised admission management, care plans, etc, and including partnerships with technology companies or universities)

Best Care Home Marketing, Advertising or PR Activities – sponsored by the Care Show Birmingham

Best for Staff Recruitment and Retention – sponsored by the Care Show London
(including recruitment campaigns)

Best for Training and Development – sponsored by Paragon Skills
(including care for staff mental well-being, and partnerships with professional training organisations)

Best Sustainability Initiative
(sustainability is of growing and imperative importance. This Award can be for an individual care home or a group wide initiative for larger providers)

Best for Nursing Care – sponsored by Softworks
(including medication management, clinical facilities, partnerships with universities or hospital trusts, etc)

Best for Specialist Care
(covering adults, young people and children for all types of specialist care,
including stroke, dementia and mental health, brain injury, physical disability
or complex 1-2-1 care, including partnerships with universities or hospital trusts, etc)

Best for Innovation in Care – sponsored by Avery Healthcare
(including including partnerships with commercial companies, universities or hospital trusts)

Best for Architecture or Interior Design
(where it can be shown design helps facilitate resident activity and living)

Best for Indoor or Outdoor Communal Spaces
(emphasising contribution to resident engagement, involvement and well-being)

Best for Care Home Development
(This category is specifically about care home developments, not about innovations in care. Nor is it about new care homes. It does cover acquisitions, or refurbishment of a group’s properties, or the introduction of accounting and business management software, or the financing of growth and development for the future)

Best New Care Home
(opened between Jan 1, 2022 and Dec 31, 2023 and should show how architecture,
interior design, technology and services work together to provide a physical platform
to enhance wellbeing for residents and staff)

Outstanding Achievement categories (Gold Awards)

(To enter these Outstanding Achievement categories you must have entered at least one of the Care Home categories above.)

Outstanding Care Provider in a Group
presented by The Outstanding Society

Outstanding Independent Care Provider
presented by The Outstanding Society

Outstanding Smaller Group Care Provider (up to 25 homes)

Outstanding Mid-size Group Care Provider (26-75 homes)

Outstanding Larger Group Care Provider (over 75 homes)
presented by Sona