Is this the best care home in the country? Meet the dedicated staff in line for honours in the Great British Care Awards

Five members of staff at a care home in Jarrow have been shortlisted for awards.

Staff at Palmersdene Care Home in Jarrow have made the regional final of the Great British Care Awards, which will be held in Newcastle next month.

Those shortlisted are chef manager Alan Bulmer in the chef of the year category; deputy manager Megan Graves in the care assessor award and team leader Auriel Walker for the dementia care award.

Housekeeper Sharon Skinner was shortlisted for the ancillary worker award and team leader Anthony Bage was shortlisted for the frontline leader award.

Home manager Maureen McCulloch said: “We are over the moon that they have all reached this stage as to get shortlisted at this level is fantastic.”

This is the second year running that staff have been shortlisted in the Great British Care Awards, with seven members of the team shortlisted across a range of categories back in 2018.

And just this year chef manager Alan Bulmer was also in line for another major accolade.

He went head-to-head with other Anchor care home chefs across the country in Anchor’s Chef of the Year competition.

The cook-off final saw him spend two hours preparing a main and dessert, along with one diet option for people with problems with swallowing, and an option for people who need to put on weight.

The dishes were judged by a Michelin starred chef, with Alan just missing out on the top spot.

The care home, based on Grange Road West, provides residential care for elderly people, and offers specialised services for elderly people with dementia.

In May 2019 it was rated highly by its residents and relatives in the national Your Care Rating survey which asked the residents to comment on how they are looked after.

Its last Care Quality Commission inspection was in May 2017 and saw the care home achieve an overall Good rating.

And every year it invites older people in the community who live alone to spend Christmas Day with them.