Oh, what a night! A win and highly commended for Gray Healthcare in this year’s Learning Disability and Autism Awards!
It was another night of celebrations for the Gray Healthcare Team at this year’s National Learning Disability and Autism Awards. Held at the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Birmingham on 30 June 2023, Sue Ball, Community Support Manager, won the ‘Manager Award’ and Owen Williams, Community Support Manager was ‘Highly Commended’ in the ‘Frontline Leader’ category for England and Scotland.
The ‘Manager’ award celebrates a manager who has demonstrated a high level of expertise, exceptional skills in leadership and management, great support for colleagues and a positive commitment to person-centred support. Sue and her team support a young non-verbal autistic man in a home of his own. This young man’s family said of Sue: ‘What can we say about super Sue? Sue is a wonderful person, who goes above and beyond to make sure our son has the happy, fulfilled life he deserves. Her caring, interactive approach helps him to thrive. You can see her passion for caring and how she tries to install her values onto other members of her team. Most importantly, Sue understands him and makes sure he gets the correct support. Our son is settled and happy in his home, which we believe is down to having a consistent team and Sue as an inspirational leader.’
The ‘Frontline Leader’ award is given to a person who has has shown clear commitment to improving the delivery of care and support within their team and who reflects on what could be better and supporting others to bring about change. Colleagues describe Owen as ‘simply an amazing person and ‘one of a kind’. He has so many fantastic attributes: reliable, trustworthy, accountable, committed, intuitive, approachable and fun. If we could clone him, we would!’
The National Learning Disability Awards celebrate excellence in the support for people with learning disabilities and Autism and aim to pay tribute to those individuals or organisations who excel in providing quality care. The awards represent all areas of care and support for people with learning disabilities and Autism within the care sector, supporting people in their own homes, the residential care sector or the voluntary sectors. From frontline staff such as care workers and care managers to people who have made an impact in other ways such as training and innovation.
We’re incredibly proud of you both! Good luck to Sue in the national finals later on in the year!