A woman who brings a “ray of sunshine” to the residents of a south Wales care home has been presented with a prestigious award.
Rachel Lewis, a nurse at the Greenhill Manor Care Home in Pentrebach near Merthyr Tydfil won the Silver Award in the Independent Sector Nurse of the Year category at this year’s Wales Care Awards, which is sponsored by Ontex Healthcare, the leading international personal hygiene group.
The awards – dubbed the Oscars of social care – are organised by Care Forum Wales to recognise outstanding work in the care sector. Rachel found she had won the award at a glittering ceremony hosted by television presenter Jason Mohammed at Cardiff’s Holland House Hotel.
Rachel, who lives in Tredegar became a registered nurse since 2001 and has worked at the Greenhill Manor Care Home at Pentrebach near Merthyr Tydfil since September 2022.
She said she was “shocked and surprised” at being nominated for the award.
“My manager told me I had been nominated and I was a bit shocked and surprised really because as far as I was concerned I’m just doing my job. But it’s nice to be recognised and that other feel I’m a good nurse,” she said.
Rachel explained there are four communities at the 120-bed Greenhill Manor Care Home and three of them are named after local landmarks while the other is named Trevithick after the 19th-century engineer who created the world’s first locomotive-hauled railway in 1804 at the Penydarren Ironworks in Merthyr Tydfil.
Rachel said: “I work in the Trevithick community which is for people who are living with dementia and it’s a lovely place to work. We are very lucky in that people can come and go at any time and we get to know the families as well as the residents.
“I love having conversations with the residents about their younger days and I see the sparkle in their eyes. We love to sing with the residents and regularly hold 1960s-themed singalongs.
“The residents know the words to all the songs. There was a moment recently when one of the staff sang the wrong words to one of the songs and was told off by a resident.”
Rachel shares her time at Greenhill Manor with teaching at an adult learning centre.
“I was nurse initially but later I trained as a teacher and I’ve worked in education for 12 years. Before coming to Greenhill Manor I worked at a Referral Unit for several years before deciding I wanted to return to nursing.
“But I didn’t want to give up teaching completely so I’m working one day a week at the adult learning centre teaching young people how to improve their employability and some basic health and social care. It’s the best of both worlds,” she said.
Karen Beech, General Manager at Hallmark Greenhill Manor Luxury Care Home, said: “With over 20 years of experience as a Registered Nurse, Rachel has consistently brought positivity and warmth to every aspect of her work since joining the Hallmark Greenhill Manor team in 2022.
“Rachel truly is a ray of sunshine, uplifting the spirits of everyone around her—residents and colleagues alike.
“Her nomination was made with the full support of the entire Greenhill Manor and wider Hallmark teams, who hold her in the highest regard.”
Mario Kreft MBE, the Chair of Care Forum Wales, said the standard of entries was extremely high.
He added: “There are only winners here tonight so it is only fitting that the finalists will receive a gold, silver or bronze Wales Care Award.
“I trust that they will continue to inspire those around them as role models and encourage others to aspire to even greater heights and in the months and years to come.
“This awards ceremony is our opportunity to pay tribute and to celebrate the talent and commitment that is improving the quality of life for thousands and thousands of people throughout Wales.
”We take our hats off to them.”
