PLATINUM STATUS FOR CAMELOT HOUSE AND LODGE
Staff and management at a specialist dementia care home in Wellington, Somerset, are getting their posh frocks and smart suits ready for a glittering awards dinner at a prestigious hotel in London’s Bloomsbury on 27 September, being held to celebrate the inspiring way they work with residents approaching the end of their lives.
The team at Camelot House and Lodge – part of the Camelot Care Group – have successfully completed the Gold Standards Framework (GSF) Care Homes Reaccreditation Assessment and have been awarded the Quality Hallmark Award at Platinum status, which recognises sustained practice in maintaining the GSF ethos throughout the home and marks them out as amongst the best in their field.
Platinum status evidences a long-standing commitment on the part of Camelot Care: accreditation occurs every three years, and this is the third consecutive accreditation for Camelot House and Lodge (GSF Beacon status was previously awarded in 2013 and 2016).
The home has also been named as one of 15 finalists in contention for the GSF national awards, due to be announced at this month’s awards ceremony.
Paul Teasdale, director of Camelot Care, said: “Achieving a third consecutive accreditation is an incredible achievement on the part of our home manager Sam Paddon and her team, and we are so proud of them all.
“GSF accreditation is all about delivering compassionate and ethical care for the dying, and demands a very high level of commitment to the comprehensive, evidence-based quality improvement training programmes run by the national GSF centre.
“Being accredited at Platinum level reflects the team’s genuine dedication and is such a reassurance for the families of our residents.”
Sam Paddon said: “I am very proud to manage a team that is so caring and compassionate in the delivery of end of life care.
“Our ethos instils the question – is what we do good enough for our own family? By practicing this in everything we do, it ensures we deliver the best possible care to our residents who are at end of life.
“We have only one chance to get it right and we feel extremely privileged to be part of the person’s journey.”
To earn GSF accreditation care staff must demonstrate that their care home properly identifies the people who need special care at this time of their life, accurately assessing their needs, and planning their care in close conjunction with them and their loved ones.
GSF-accredited care homes are twice as likely as other care homes to have a framework in place which enables them to continue to care for people in the home right up until the end, minimising inappropriate admissions to hospitals which can be distressing for all concerned.
The assessor said of Camelot House and Lodge that she could see the team were very passionate about the care and delivery of care being provided.
Camelot Care, which also runs dementia care homes in Bridgwater and Plymouth, has twice been listed (2018 and 2019) in the Stock Exchange Group Report as one of the ‘1000 Companies to Inspire Britain.’ Further details at www.camelotcare.co.uk
