A DISTRICT nurse turned care home boss has struck gold at the social care Oscars after helping to develop a pioneering training programme.

Gill Hughes, who has worked in the care sector for more than 40 years, won a coveted gold award in the Wales Care Awards 2018 in the Leadership and Management in Residential Care category.

The national awards are organised by care industry champions Care Forum Wales which is also toasting 25 years’ of service this year.

Gill, a director of and the responsible individual with the Pendine Park care organisation, managing a team of registered managers and overseeing eight residential and nursing care homes within Wrexham and Caernarfon, collected her award at a glittering awards ceremony at City Hall in Cardiff.

The former NHS nursing homes inspector, who lives in Mold, said: “It was a lovely surprise. I was up against two well-able candidates and I was absolutely honoured to receive gold.

“It was a lovely evening and we were made to feel extremely special. Everybody was so kind and I had numerous good wishes from staff and other professionals I communicate with. I was very touched and honoured.

“You never go with the thought of winning in your mind because the calibre of candidates was extremely high and I know the judges take it extremely seriously. I don’t think it matters what award you receive, you know it has been well sorted out and deliberated upon.

“The award is for the whole organisation.”

Gill, who has two children and four grandchildren, started her career as a cadet nurse at Clatterbridge Hospital, Wirral, where she completed training before her husband’s job as a policeman took the couple to North Wales.

There, Gill became a district nurse and later the North Wales Continence Advisor before moving to the health board and then the newly created Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW), now Care Inspectorate Wales, where she headed up a team of inspectors and was respected for her vast knowledge and fair but firm approach.

Since joining Pendine Park Care Homes Ltd, Gill has been instrumental in the delivery of a new training programme and a new care and support plan.

“The training evolved because of a shortage of nurses,” she said.

“We introduced a Clinical Care Practitioners training programme consisting of three modules which consist of theory and competency based assessments. Individuals are nominated by their manager because they have certain skills. They would then undergo intensive training and actually work alongside nurses, relieving them of tasks such as routine care medication.

“We’ve had 14 care practitioners who’ve successfully completed the training which has been a lifesaver for us across the group to fill the gap created externally by the lack of nurse recruitment which is quite astronomic in the NHS.”

Gill says she gets deep satisfaction ensuring not only her residents are well-cared for but that staff have an opportunity to flourish. “They are my extended family,” she said.

Nominating Gill for her award, Michele May, a self-employed consultant who works closely with Pendine Park, said: “When I said to others that I was nominating Gill, their support was overwhelming, everyone wanted to contribute to the submission, which I thought spoke volumes.

“Gill is an exceptional leader and manager whose focus is on motivating, guiding and supporting everyone she works with to do the best they can do to enhance service quality and wellbeing.

“Her team of managers talk about her knowledge as being immense (they call her ‘an oracle’) and about the fact that because she has worked in so many roles she can see things from all angles and levels.”