The social care sector is being celebrated for their incredible work, as the managing director of a domiciliary care provider business has been confirmed as the first recipient of the new Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care award.

Camille Leavold (pictured  above, left), the first award winner, has 25 years hands on experience in the sector, is the co-founder and managing director of Abbots Care Ltd. Camille has been awarded the gold award, which recognises outstanding achievements and performance demonstrated by a nurse or social care worker in their sphere of practice.

Camille started Abbots Care along with her mother and sister in 1995 to care for people who live at home and are elderly, or physically disabled or who have a learning disability. The service supports service users in their right to lead normal lives living in their own homes.

Thanks to development and oversight from Camille, Abbots Care now supports almost 1,000 people who are cared for at home and employs 500 care workers.

Camille is being recognised for her work throughout the pandemic to develop schemes of work to help counter the effects of the pandemic on service users and staff, to help support the NHS, to assist partner organisations and to offer crucial leadership and support to staff.

Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care, Professor Deborah Sturdy (pictured above, right), said: “I am thrilled to announce the first Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care award is going to someone who has put so much hard-work and dedication into developing a service to provide care for those who need it most.

“Camille continues to be an inspiring leader to all those around her and across the homecare sector nationally and has helped develop staff to become managers themselves thanks to her support and coaching.

“I look forward to recognising more exceptional people like Camille who are shining examples of the very best our social care sector has to offer.”

Camille Leavold, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Abbots Care, said: “I am sincerely delighted and grateful to have received this award. I love working to help support society’s most vulnerable people by providing them with the support they need to remain living at home.

“I am also really thrilled that Deborah Sturdy, Chief Nurse for Adult Care and the Department of Health and Social Care is working so hard to shine a light on and bring recognition to, the valuable and vital work of the UK’s home care workforce.”

Specifically, Camille has been recognised for creating a learning management system, clear career pathways and a Leadership Academy within Abbots Care to support rising stars within the organisation to develop managers.

During the pandemic, Camille supported her teams by cohorting care workers into specialist ‘COVID’ teams, whose role was solely to support recipients of homecare with symptoms or a positive diagnosis of coronavirus (COVID-19).

Those who volunteered to join these teams received advanced, intensive training in infection prevention and control from the local clinical commissioning group and were placed on special rotas which ensured they had comfort breaks.

Minister for Care Helen Whately said: “I want to offer big congratulations to Camille, who is hugely deserving of this first award.

“The social care workforce is full of inspiring leaders, especially those who have helped and supported staff during one of the most challenging years the care sector has ever faced.

“I look forward to seeing more people recognised by Professor Sturdy for their exceptional efforts within the sector with our new Adult Social Care awards.”

The Adult Social Care Awards are the first of its kind for adult social care and are open to the workforce from all settings and parts of the sector.

The awards will be on an application basis, with individuals awarded throughout the year.