We have recently welcomed our new Care Coordinator, Natalja Popova, to the Caremark team. Natalja was born and raised in Latvia and, in her teens, attended university in Lithuania where she was awarded with a degree in Business Administration. She spent three years in America where she met her husband with whom she has now settled in Southampton.

In the short time that she has been with Caremark Natalja has integrated extremely well, winning the support of all our Care and Support Workers as well as developing strong relationships with our clients.

We hope that she will enjoy a long and successful career with Caremark.

After nearly two years with Caremark we have said a fond farewell to Rhona who has moved on to a new job in Portsmouth. We all have so much for which to thank Rhona and wish her every success in the future.

Her successor is Mandy Atkins who joins us after nearly 20 years working with Turning Point, a not-for-profit business that provides care and support to vulnerable adults with learning disabilities. She has immense experience not only of care provision, but also of training and business development.

We welcome Mandy to Caremark and look forward to a highly successful working relationship.

We are delighted to announce that Samantha Burt has been awarded Caremark's National Carer of the Month Award for March 2010.

Sam has been a carer with Caremark (Winchester & Eastleigh) for little more than a month having had no previous care experience, a fact that makes this award all the more remarkable.

When visiting a client she discovered that, just prior to her arrival, he had injured himself quite seriously. Despite being confronted by a potentially stressful situation Sam remained calm throughout, calling the emergency services and keeping Lauren, her Field Care Supervisor, fully informed.

We could not have asked more of Sam. She acted in a professional and composed manner when confronted by the most trying of circumstances. It is safe to say that each and every member of the Winchester & Eastleigh team is very proud of her. Well done Sam!

The image shows Sam being presented with her certificate by Lauren.

I want to congratulate Lauren on taking up the role of Field Care Supervisor, succeeding Tony who has moved on to a new role with Hampshire County Council's Adult Services. Lauren joined Caremark in October 2008 with no previous care experience whatsoever and in the meantime has worked so hard to achieve not only her NVQ2 in Health and Social Care but also a VRQ (Vocationally Related Qualification) in Palliative Care. Both she and our other Supervisor, Yvonne, are soon to embark on a VRQ in Dementia Care. With this dedication to her studies plus the fact that she has an incredible natural empathy for our clients, it quickly became clear that she was destined to climb the promotion ladder.

All members of the Caremark team wish her every success!

To celebrate Caremark’s growing contribution to the wellbeing of the more vulnerable members of our community an Open Day was held on Tuesday 19th January, attended by The Mayor of Eastleigh, Councillor Mrs Pamela Holden-Brown and The Mayor’s Escort, Mr Terry Holden-Brown. The Open Day also provided the opportunity for an informal meeting with representatives of local charities and care professionals.

The recent bad weather has highlighted the quality of work performed by Caremark’s team of Carers. Despite the challenges of icy roads and numerous customers who live in what had become relatively inaccessible rural areas, the Carers did a marvellous job in providing continuity of care. Some Carers dispensed with their cars and simply walked from one customer’s home to the next. Unfortunately one Carer did have a minor accident in her car and another slipped on the ice with very painful results but the dedication to the customers of each and every one of the Carers was a credit to them.

The growing proportion of older people within the population means that the provision of high-quality, professional care at home is becoming ever more relevant. Caremark’s tried and tested approach has provided not only their customers but also their loved ones with the reassurance that everyone needs when the care of someone close is in question.

It is central to our principles that well-trained carers provide the best quality of care. We aim, therefore, to enrol each and every one of our carers on the NVQ 2 (Health and Social Care) as soon as possible.

To give a brief impression of what the course entails, the following words were written by Jenny, one of our carers:

"I knew very little about NVQ courses and was apprehensive about undertaking one. I was surprised at how long the course would take and, once started, just how much work was involved. However, I had a lovely Assessor who encouraged me every step of the way. I was pleased to find that I could still study at my age!

It was a great relief to complete the course on target and I would encourage all carers to grasp this opportunity to enhance their knowledge and skills, ultimately to the benefit of their clients."