A nurse’s commitment to ensuring dementia patients are treated with dignity has seen her scoop two top awards at a celebration honouring the best carers in Wales.
Rachelle Beasley from Bridgend said her double success in this year’s Wales Care Awards had left her “beyond shocked”.
At the care celebration, held at the Holland House Hotel in Cardiff, Rachelle won a gold award in the Excellence in Dementia Care category, sponsored by Hallmark Care Homes and Camascope Ltd.
And she picked up a second gold award after being named a winner in the Dignity in Care Award category, sponsored by the Welsh Government.
Rachelle works as a Regional Senior Nurse for HC-One Wales’ residential, nursing and dementia care homes.
In her role, Rachelle helps ensure high-quality nursing and clinical care across 14 homes in Wales, located in Cardiff, Caerphilly, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Carmarthen, Port Talbot and Swansea.
She said the glittering awards night was a terrific celebration of the excellent work which goes on day in and day out within the social care sector – and to pick up two gold awards on the evening had left her stunned.
Rachelle said: “I must say, I was beyond shocked, especially with the second one, the Dignity in Care Award.
“I was looking at the screen thinking ‘I wonder who this could be then, I wonder if I know them?’
“Then the names came out and I was like ‘Oh, my goodness, that’s me’.
“I could not believe it, it was such a shock.
“How I walked up to the stage and managed to get up the steps, I don’t know.”
Rachelle said being recognised for her work in ensuring residents were treated with dignity was particularly pleasing.
She said: “The ethos of treating everyone with dignity is so important to me, it’s my absolute passion.
“I don’t think we all think enough about how an individual feels.
“We have a voice for ourselves, but we also need to be the voice for other people who can’t speak up for themselves.”
Rachelle said the awards evening allowed a spotlight to be put on everything that is good within the care sector.
She said: “It was an amazing evening, I am still buzzing now, it reminds you how fortunate we are to work alongside such dedicated people in a profession which we all love.
“We wouldn’t do it if we didn’t love it.
“How many professions out there do you go to work and genuinely love what you do?
“We go to work to love and care for people.
“We all share the same commitment to provide that person-centred care.
“The recognition is not just for me, it is for everyone who was there on that day and everybody in the teams who support us and inspire us every day.
“We couldn’t do it if we didn’t have such amazing teams that work with us, work with our families and work with our residents.
“Even though I was recognised and I was given an amazing honour of the awards, it’s really for everybody that I work with.
“They inspire me every day to do my best, so it’s a collective award.
“We do what we do every day and we take it for granted that that is our passion, but it’s lovely to be recognised for our work too.
“Our work is a challenge, we’ve been through Covid, and now we’re going through the harshest financial challenges and it impacts us every day, but we need to remember it’s the small things that we do together which makes the big difference.
“It is about making sure we are always compassionate, making that human connection with our residents and our families and with each other as well.
“The award in the Excellence in Dementia Care category allows me to shine a light on how to connect with our residents who are living with dementia, how to make sure we are living alongside them and meeting them where they are.
“It is great motivation to carry on with our work with our residents who are living with dementia, it’s a hugely positive thing and I am just so thankful to be recognised for the work that we do.”
Rachelle, who has been a registered nurse for 25 years, was nominated by Aileen Beatty, Head of Dementia Care at HC-One.
Aileen said Rachelle was “warm and caring, good humoured and empathetic, yet demanding of high standards of dignity and care at all times without compromise”.
She said: “Rachelle makes a difference every day and has a natural inclination to do what is right.”
The Wales Care Awards, organised by Care Forum Wales with the support of overall sponsor Meddyg Care, celebrate the dedication of frontline social care professionals.
Mario Kreft MBE, Chair of Care Forum Wales, said the Wales Care Awards once again shone a light on the “unsung heroes and heroines” who make a vital difference to the lives of vulnerable people across the nation.
He said: “For more than 30 years, Care Forum Wales has worked tirelessly to champion the social care sector.
“The Wales Care Awards underlines the importance of the sector – it’s the glue that binds our communities together, both socially and economically.
“Our mission has always been to be the voice of social care in Wales to stand up for the workforce and ensure their dedication is properly recognised.”
A special moment in the evening when Mair Elis Thomas, widow of the late Lord Dafydd Elis Thomas, took to the stage to present one of the awards.
According to Mr Kreft it was a touching gesture that reflected Lord Elis Thomas’s long standing support for the Wales Care Award and for social care more broadly.
“Dafydd was a passionate believer in the power of the arts to enrich lives and support wellbeing and mental health,” said Mr Kreft.
“He is greatly missed, but his legacy lives on – not only through his contribution to public life as a Presiding Officer, but also through the positive impact he had on so many communities.”