A Very 'Awarding' Evening

It was our pleasure last Friday (25th October) to host the seventh WMCA Excellence in Care Awards. It was a fantastic night and celebration of Adult Social Care.

We handed out 8 Awards, bringing the total number of award recipients to 46 since we started them seven years ago. Since we started we have received over 1500 nominations and have shortlisted 116 individuals for an award. We even continued the awards during the pandemic, taking them online because colleagues still wanted to nominate their friends and colleagues to recognise what they do - and that’s where we need to pause and take stock as to why we need awards.

Putting on an awards night is no easy task; it takes a lot of resource in both time and money - and I must thank my wonderful team for making it happen - but we’d never think twice about not doing it. It’s our way of saying thank you to our members, for everything they do, day in and day out. Particularly as so much of what they do goes unrecognised.

No one seeks recognition for what they do in care but it’s important that we have nights like the WMCA Excellence in Care Awards to do precisely that. 

Too much doom and gloom surrounds the sector and it’s easy to be dragged down by it. Seeing the 150 people in the room on Friday, enjoying themselves and celebrating each other reminds us that it is sector that has to be cherished.

We don’t shout out loud enough about everything that is good about Adult Social Care and I hope by putting on these awards we may have raised the volume!

Keiron Broadbent

Chief Executive Officer

West Midlands Care Association