Islington celebrates unsung care heroes at Dignity in Care Awards

Care workers who provide care and support to some of Islington’s most vulnerable residents have been recognised for their exceptional work at the council’s annual Dignity in Care Awards.

Now in their sixth year, the awards celebrate care sector workers in Islington who go the extra mile to provide excellent care, delivered with dignity and respect to people who are at a vulnerable time in their lives.

The judging panel, drawn from local organisations including Age UK, Healthwatch Islington and the Islington Pensioners Forum chose winners in four categories from a record 104 nominations. The winners were:

• Samantha Lewis and Rita Clara Ansah from Allied Healthcare, in the Domiciliary Care category
• Lorna Nembhard, from AA Nursing, in the Residential and Nursing Care Category
• Odette Mbala, from Notting Hill Housing Group, in the Extra Care category
• Victor Jankovsky and Patricia Kavanagh, in the Supported Living / Shared Lives category

Winners were presented certificates in a ceremony at Lift Islington Youth Hub, near Angel.

Victor Jankovsky said: “We were astonished when they announced we had won. As Shared Lives Carers, my wife and I take vulnerable adults with learning disabilities into our home to provide respite or long term care for them. We think of them as family, so to be recognised in this way is wonderful and a great honour.”

Executive member for health and social care and deputy leader of the council, Janet Burgess, was part of the judging panel and on hand to present the awards alongside Islington’s Mayor.

She said: “These awards are one of my favourite days of the year. It’s a difficult task to choose the winners, when they all do such a remarkable job, but it’s a privilege to be a part of it. It’s vital that we celebrate these inspirational and too often overlooked care workers who have chosen to dedicate their careers to care for people.”