Our Staff   At Hendra House we recognise that our staff are our most valuable asset. We have a dedicated and loyal staff team all of whom live locally and share our mission to deliver quality care to our residents and their family at all times. At Hendra House we are committed to ensuring that all our care staff have the desired knowledge and skills to carry out their roles efficiently and effectively at all times. To achieve this objective each member of staff pursues an evolving programme of continuous personal development (CPD), relevant to their role and responsibilities. The quality of our staff can be measured by the fact that two of our employees were National Finalists in the World Skills in Care competitions held in London in June 2010. It should also be noted that Hendra House was the only employer in Great Britain to have two finalists at this prestigious completion. Currently over 95% of the care team hold or are working towards National Vocational Qualifications at Level 2, 3 and 4 as well as the Registered Managers Awards. We are committed to meeting the nationally recognised standards of the Investors In People Award. Our three yearly assessment took place in September 2008, and the assessor complemented the home on meeting fully, and in most cases, exceeding the standards of this nationally recognised award. Our investment in the development of the staff at Hendra House has, we believe, been a major factor in the successes of the home to date. This belief being reinforced by the fact that:   The Owner / Registered Manager was voted Best People Manager in Shropshire at the 2002 Shropshire Business Awards, and Hendra House employees won the Trainee of the Year Award at the Skills for Growth awards ceremony in 2002, and the Learner of the Year Award at the Shropshire Care Awards in 2007. In addition the home was commended and short-listed for the national award at the Learning Skills Council Apprenticeship Awards in 2006. In 2009 we were voted the “Best Employer in the West Midlands” at the regional finals of the National Apprentice Awards. In addition one of our employees was “Highly Commended” at the same awards ceremony in the National Apprentice awards.     The success of the home and our commitment to our staff was further compounded when the home was chosen as the first employer from the health and social care sector to be selected as finalists and then as winners of the Employer of the Year Award at the National Apprentices Award in July 2009.   Whilst our care team are a key factor in delivering quality care, we also recognise that our catering and domestic teams are equally important & valued in the efficient & effective running of the home. Our experienced team of cooks and kitchen staff consistently prepare and deliver appetising and nutritional home made meals to meet the changing needs of each individual resident. This fact being commented upon by CQC Inspectors, in both announced and unannounced inspection reports. The efforts of our cooks and kitchen staff were recognised in the awarding of the “Platinum Award”, (the highest level achievable), in the Shropshire Healthy Eating Awards Scheme. Our domestic team prides itself on the cleanliness of the home and the individual rooms of each resident, thereby ensuring that we maintain a safe and healthy environment for our residents and visitors. As a result of our infection control audit which took place in May 2009 we received an overall rating of 91%. The Inspector recorded that: “ I would like to ask if you have any objections in my referring to your work in regards to infection control as I believe that you, at Hendra House have worked extremely hard to achieve the improvements you now have in place and I truly believe good practices should be praised and acknowledged” In conclusion, we believe that our investment in the development of our staff has been instrumental in our achievements to date and has resulted in a workforce who consistently demonstrate exceptional levels of commitment, loyalty, professionalism and pride in ensuring that we provide high quality care to our numerous residents and their families at all times.