A care home’s “wonder-woman” has been shortlisted for a top award after more than a decade of being ‘the glue that holds everyone together’.
Emma Louise Davies is a whizz of an administration assistant at Ysguborwen Care Home, Aberdare, where she has worked since she left school at 17 years old.
Bosses say she quickly became known for her bubbly personality, her smile that lights up a room, her exceptional proficiency and her natural compassion for residents and their families.
Nominating her for recognition at the 2025 Wales Care Awards, Ysguborwen manager Debbie Strong said Emma is ‘indispensable’ to the smooth running of the home, adding: “She is already a winner for us.”
The Wales Care Awards are often described as the ‘Oscars’ of social care, paying tribute to front line heroes of the sector.
They are organised by Care Forum Wales which represents more than 400 independent health and social care providers across the nation.
Winners will be revealed at a glittering dinner and ceremony at Holland House Hotel, Cardiff, on Friday, October 17. Meddyg Care is the overall sponsor for the evening.
Each person shortlisted in 20 different categories will receive either a gold, silver or bronze award. Emma is nominated for the excellence in a supporting function accolade, sponsored by Silverlink.
She was moved to tears upon hearing she had made it through to the shortlist of finalists, whittled down from hundreds of nominees in the social care sector across Wales.
She said: “I just couldn’t believe it. I am so touched, I never expected anything like this. For me all the rewards come from just doing the job itself, getting to know our residents and their families and becoming a part of their lives. I just love my job and can’t imagine myself ever wanting to do anything else.”
Raised in Aberdare, Emma had no hesitation following in her mum, Lesley’s, footsteps in 2008 when she applied for a job at Ysguborwen, which is part of Osbourne Care Homes group.
She said: “At first I worked here as a kitchen assistant for a year. Then when I reached 18 the manager asked me if I wanted to train as a carer. I jumped at the chance as I couldn’t think of anything else I would rather do.
“Mum was already working here so I knew the home quite well and I think I was motivated by having had a grandmother who lived with Alzheimer’s for a number of years. Eventually it reached the stage where she moved into a care home. Having experienced it ourselves I think we just felt an affinity with families having to go through similar experiences.”
Emma is now a mum herself to two young daughters, Evie, nine, and Olivia, six, who both enjoy visiting Ysguborwen on occasions to chat with residents.
She said: “The girls are the centre of my life and residents love to see them. It’s great to see the interaction between the different generations. My mum has retired now but the home is still a big part of our family and I often find myself thinking about our residents even when I’m not at work.”
Managers and fellow staff have often noted how Emma goes the extra mile to help residents, making friends with them and their families and taking time to comfort them if they are having a bad day.
She is even known for stopping off at a coffee shop to bring in a favourite beverage for a resident who enjoys a latte. On another occasion Emma and a fellow carer took a resident out to a bingo evening to cheer him up on a day when he was feeling down.
Emma said: “To be honest it was one of my best nights out ever. We all had a fabulous time.”
Manager Debbie Strong said: “Emma knows all the families and their stories. She is a friend when needed. She is compassionate and very aware of the importance of person-centred approaches, respecting individuals in her daily role.”
Emma has also progressed her career to gain a diploma in administration, to add to her Level 2 and 3 NVQs in health and social care.
In her current role as administration assistant Emma takes on board a variety of duties from helping organise staff rotas, liaising between managers, manning the phones and front of house reception, and covering for staff off sick.
She is also extremely talented with IT tasks and has become the go-to troubleshooter for issues such as fixing the printer, sorting out wi-fi or phone hiccups.
Debbie said: “Emma has infinite patience and is always pleased to help out. She has improved our management structure with her tremendous aptitude and keenness to learn new things, she holds us all together.
“She has to be one of the most selfless people I have ever worked with, she genuinely is a warm, caring person and is outstanding in supporting us all.”
Chair of Care Forum Wales, Mario Kreft MBE, said: “Care Forum Wales has been working tirelessly for more than 30 years to promote the social care sector.
“We established the Wales Care Awards to show our appreciation to the workforce and the wider sector for the remarkable and vitally important contribution everybody makes, day in day out.
“The event underlines the importance of the social care sector. It is the glue that binds our communities together, both socially and economically.
“Our mission is to be the voice of social care in Wales to advocate on the sector’s behalf, holding truth to power in order to secure a fair deal to recognise the dedication of our front line heroes and heroines across our nation.
“If you don’t value the people who do the caring you will never provide the standards that people need and never recognise the value of the people who need care in society.
“Every single one of our finalists is a winner.”
