Residents, family and friends enjoyed a carefree afternoon in the sunshine at Riversway’s BBQ last week.

Sun hats and parasols were the order of the day as the sun shone and the BBQ food was enjoyed in the garden area.

The afternoon was capped by entertainment from Trevor who is a regular entertainer-singer at Riversway, who received a big Riversway round of applause.

The residents and guests swapped stories of times past, and everyone agreed it was one of the best BBQs yet. Roll on the next one!

You can view the photo album on our Riversway Facebook page HERE

Staff at the Springhill Care Group in Lancashire have won two top national care awards.

Catherine Shawarby, General Manager at Birch Green Care Home in Skelmersdale, walked away with the Care Manager award at the 14th annual National Care Awards held recently.

Stephen Penketh, Registered Manager and Vici Beardsworth, Operations Manager at the Springhill Group’s Accrington-based supported living service, Affinity Supporting People, were jointly named winners of the Special Needs Manager award.

Birch Green provides high quality nursing and residential care for 74 older people and is part of the Lancashire-based Springhill Care Group.

Affinity is a not-for-profit company providing care services for young people with learning disabilities. Stephen described how he felt about receiving the award: ‘It is very humbling to receive this award. It makes the hard and sometimes difficult work we do extremely rewarding and extra special.  We appreciate that behind every good manager is an exceptional team which makes our position much easier, bringing the award back to the north west shows that this area is one of the best in the country.’

The trio were picked as winners from among the top care organisations and businesses in the country.

The National Care Awards, now in its 14th year, is one of the social care sector’s premier award ceremonies, run by trade magazine Caring Times. This year’s event took place at the Hilton London Metropole Hotel, featuring TV and radio host Roy Walker and 600 guests.

Ken Nolan, chairman of Springhill Care Group, said: “This was a great result for the team and a wonderful testimony to the quality of our managers.

“Affinity and Birch Green were picked above much larger care providers, and we are particularly proud to be bringing these awards back to the North West.

“Everyone at Birch Green, Affinity and across the Springhill Care Group have worked incredibly hard over the last 12 months as we have made significant investment into many of our services, and this success shows that we are leading the way in the quality of our care.”

Staff and residents at Bristol nursing home Riversway helped their longest serving staff member celebrate her 60^th birthday in style recently.

Georgina Harriman, quality and training manager at the Crew’s Hole Road home, has worked for Riversway since the facility opened 15 years ago on the banks of the River Avon.

The well-loved staff member was given a birthday to remember with entertainment including singing and food with a special cake for the occasion.

Ken Nolan, chairman of the Springhill Care Group, operators of Riversway Nursing Home, travelled from Lancashire for the party, donning a top hat to join in the fun.

Jan Wilkins, general manager of Riversway, said: “Georgina is a real jewel in Riversway’s crown. She has been with us since the home was first opened, and knows everything about it.

“Residents and staff both regularly sing her praises, and it was lovely that we were able to help give her a day to remember on the special occasion of her 60^th birthday.”