A NEW badge to recognise the work of adult social care has been awarded to every member of Christchurch based care provider Fairmile Grange.

The green badges from the Department of Health and Social Care are free to staff to help provide greater recognition of their work day-to-day and particularly their extra efforts throughout the Covid pandemic.

Staff at the care home near Christchurch Hospital were one of the first to collect their badges along with other members of the Encore Care Homes team across Dorset

Director of Health and Care at Encore Care Homes Lindsay Rees said: “We are delighted to receive the care badges to present to the team.

“It is just a small gesture of goodwill and thanks, but I hope it will provide some formal recognition of how proud we all are to work in adult social care, and how much we value and champion every member of the team.”

There are believed to be 1.6 million social care workers in the UK who look after half a million people every day and who stand amongst the 1.4 million NHS workers on the frontline.

Encore Care Homes has teams at Great Oaks in Bournemouth, Fairmile Grange in Christchurch, Oakdale in Poole, and Hamble Heights in Fareham.

Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, has championed the lapel badges for adult social care staff which ensure that people working in homes for older and vulnerable people received the ‘same recognition and benefits’ as NHS staff.

The badges were presented to each person at Encore Care Homes, which includes care workers, cleaners, catering staff, registered nurses, wellbeing teams, and administrators on a colourful card featuring a thank you message on behalf of their colleagues and the residents that the team look after.

Cecilia Thomson, Home Manager at Fairmile Grange, added: “When I told the team that we were going to get these badges, everyone was happy because it makes you proud to wear them.

“I think people feel valued when they receive something like this and it’s a nationwide initiative so it’s recognisable across the country.”

Encore Care Homes is currently recruiting additional staff on a full and part time basis in a range of key roles.

For more information about Encore Care Homes, visit Encorecarehomes.co.uk.