A care home worker has been awarded a national honour.

Austen House care home staff and residents in Reading are celebrating after their colleague, Mervyn Knights, was named the National Foundation Champion of the Year at the Barchester Care Awards 2024.

These awards honour the staff who go the extra mile for the 13,500 residents living in Barchester’s 262 care homes and private hospitals across the country.

Categories include Team of the Year, Carer of the Year, Dementia Care Champion, and Activities Coordinator of the Year.

More than 5,250 nominations were received from homes and hospitals across the UK.

Mr Knights, who is the hospitality development and standards manager, was recognised for his fundraising work for Barchester’s Charitable Foundation.

He came up with the idea of a cook-off between the managing directors of Barchester’s five divisions to raise funds.

The event was a huge success and raised almost £25,000 for the foundation.

Mr Knights said: "I can’t believe I have been named the national winner.

"I am so proud and so thankful to everyone who nominated and voted for me.

"It means the world to be recognised for doing something I am so passionate about.

"The foundation does such vital work, I’m so happy I was able to play a part in helping so many people."

His win was announced at a special national award ceremony.

General Manager of Austen House care home, Arturas Repkova, said: "This is such a fantastic achievement, the whole home is so proud of Mervyn.

"He is so dedicated and always goes the extra mile.

"The MD cook-off was such a wonderful idea and he organised the whole thing brilliantly."

Dr Pete Calveley, CEO of Barchester Healthcare, added: "Hosting the Barchester Care Awards where we recognise and thank all of our staff for their hard work and dedication is without doubt my favourite day of the year.

"We have the best teams in the world and I couldn’t be prouder of each and every one of our members of staff, they are all absolutely amazing."

Barchester Healthcare supports over 13,500 residents across 262 homes and hospitals, providing a wide range of services for a variety of needs.

Their services include residential care, nursing care, and expert dementia care.

Many Barchester homes feature a Memory Lane Community, a dedicated part of the home designed to support residents living with various stages of Alzheimer’s or dementia.

Barchester also provides specialist care for those who require neuro rehabilitation, as well as care for those with Parkinson’s or Huntington’s disease.

They have six independent mental health hospitals that offer functional and organic mental health services.