Walkers needed to raise funds for Royal Blind

Staff at Braeside House, Edinburgh, were delighted with the news that they had won two prestigious care awards: Carer of the Year and Specialist Services Provider, at the recent Scottish Care Awards ceremony hosted on 17th November.

The care home was also runner up in the Single Care Home Operator category. Agnes Vass, a carer who has been with Royal Blind for 36 years, was voted Carer of the Year and was one of 1000 nominations. Well done Agnes!

Braeside House, which celebrated its 7th birthday on 22nd November 2006 is a purpose built care home for older people who are blind or visually impaired. The awards, 13 in total, were announced and presented at the second National Scottish Care Awards Gala that was compered by Sally Magnusson.

Marilyn McCann, Matron of Braeside House accepted the awards on behalf of the home. Marilyn said: ‘To be nominated for these awards was a real endorsement of the high standards of service that we provide at our nursing home. To actually win two awards and be runner up in a third was absolutely fantastic. Our staff work hard to provide an excellent service and our birthday celebrations with our residents this year had just a little extra sparkle, thanks to these awards.’

Edinburgh care home wins 2 national awards just before 7th birthday celebration The awards follow hot on the heels of a letter of endorsement for Braeside that was recently sent to the Care Commission by Susan Craig, whose mother received care at the home before she passed away. Susan was so impressed with the home that she wanted to write to the Care Commission to let them know about the service but was disappointed when she viewed their website.

‘I found a section where I could give feedback, but this only applied to complaints and not praise,’ said Susan. ‘I suppose that this reflects attitudes today, in that all too often only the negative is stated and heard. I was so impressed with the care my mother received while in Braeside that I felt the staff should be commended for their excellent practice and given positive feedback.’

To make sure this was achieved Susan put pen to paper and wrote to the Care Commission – to read the story click here.