Two St Albans care teams have been recognised for their achievements in annual county awards.

The Hertfordshire Care Awards celebrate and reward the successes of care providers within the county and showcase outstanding care in the county's private, voluntary, and independent sectors.

Run by Hertfordshire Care Providers Association, the awards ceremony took place at Warner Brothers Studios, attended by VIP guests including the director of adult social care services for Hertfordshire, Chris Badger, and Run by Hertfordshire Care Providers Association, the awards ceremony took place at Warner Brothers Studios, attended by VIP guests including the director of adult social care services for Hertfordshire, Chris Badger, and Director of Public Health Hertfordshire, Professor Jim McManus.

Chris Badger said: ‘“The Hertfordshire Care Awards highlight the important part those working in social care play in our communities. These awards are a great way to celebrate the hard work, compassion, and kindness that they put in to ensure Hertfordshire residents are able to live life well, stay as independent as possible and thrive. It’s great to see the winners recognised and congratulated for the significant impact they have on others."

Herts Advertiser: The Hertfordshire Care Awards.The Hertfordshire Care Awards. (Image: ©2022 Danny Loo Photography - all rights reserved +44 7880551692)

The winner of the Most Innovative Homecare Team award was Abbots Care in St Albans.

The judges heard how Abbots Care have been caring for people and their families for over 25 years. The Community Facilitators team place high importance on care and commitment, and this is demonstrated through their constant desire to support people to achieve the best outcomes possible.

Despite the challenges the pandemic brought, the team identified and adapted to new ways of working and went above and beyond to ensure that all the people they support were happy and safe.

Herts Advertiser: The Innovation Award for Adult Disability and Mental Health Services went to Care 4 Freedom, St AlbansThe Innovation Award for Adult Disability and Mental Health Services went to Care 4 Freedom, St Albans (Image: ©2022 Danny Loo Photography - all rights reserved +44 7880551692)

The Innovation Award for Adult Disability and Mental Health Services went to Care 4 Freedom, St Albans Hoarding Support Team.

Care 4 Freedom offer domiciliary care and hoarding support in Hertfordshire. The team at Care 4 Freedom take pride in applying themselves to everything that they do and ensure that the people they support are comfortable throughout the whole process.

Their ‘wrap around’ emergency response service during the pandemic was essential in ensuring people that left hospital had a safe and comfortable environment to return to.

HCPA chief executive Sharon Davies OBE said: “We are honoured to be able to run this event each year and are always humbled by the stories we uncover, Care staff have honestly shown that they are professionals and I personally really welcomed the chance to ‘Clap for Care Staff’ one more time. We will continue to run these awards as we must continue to showcase the brilliant, caring staff we have in our county.”