AN awards ceremony has been organised by staff at Wigan and Leigh Hospice to recognise care workers at nursing homes across the borough.

The awards night will be held at Leigh Sports Village on October 14, with 13 gongs up for grabs.

The Hospice In Your Care Home team has been working with eight different nursing homes – including Bedford Care Home and Richmond House Care Home in Leigh and Belong Atherton – to help improve care for residents who are nearing the end of their lives and reduce unnecessary hospital admissions.

Debbie Dempsey, manager of the team, said: “Our awards ceremony aims to celebrate the positive initiatives in nursing homes and highlight individuals who are making a real difference to the residents they care for.

“Over the past 10 months we have worked closely with these eight nursing homes to give staff the practical skills and knowledge they need to enhance the care given to their residents who are dying and to support their loved ones.

"We have seen a lot of excellent work being done, but nursing home staff do not always get the recognition they deserve.”

Voting boxes have been placed in all eight nursing homes to give staff the opportunity to nominate their colleagues.

Families and patients are able to vote for the staff member of the year.

Around 120 nursing home staff are expected to attend the awards ceremony, which will be hosted by hospice chief executive Alan Baron.

The awards will be presented by various professionals from Wigan Council, Wigan Borough Clinical Commissioning Group and the Care Quality Commission.