The care team at Bridgwater’s Avalon Nursing Home has been named as Dementia Carer of the Year for the South West, beating off stiff competition from the rest of the region in the sector-leading Great British Care Awards, and will now go forward to the national awards event being held in Birmingham on 17 March.

Judges praised Avalon for the quality of their teamwork, highlighting how they work therapeutically to understand the feelings of the people with dementia who they support.

The judges said: “They work in a person-centred holistic way and know the residents very well.”

The team was  also praised for the way they talk to each individual in order to produce personalised care-plans, observing residents’ likes and dislikes, and getting as much information as possible from them as well as including views from family and friends.

The judging panel concluded: “This team work really well!”

Paul Teasdale, director of Camelot Care who run Avalon, said: “We are delighted with this news and want to pay tribute to every single colleague whose contribution helped earn this highly-coveted award.

“They are an outstandingly hard-working and caring bunch of people, and thoroughly deserve this independent recognition.

“We wish them every success in the national awards, but they’re already winners as far as we’re concerned.”

The Great British Care Awards are a celebration of excellence across the care sector intended to pay tribute to those individuals who have demonstrated outstanding excellence within their field of work.

The awards are all-inclusive, bringing together the statutory, independent and voluntary sectors, as well as unpaid carers, promoting joint working and bringing together care partners and local care associations.

Camelot Care run two other specialist dementia care homes in Wellington and Plymouth, and will be opening a new home, Chestnut Lodge in Yeovil, within the next few weeks.