Jewish Care has won The Palliative and End of Life Care Team Award at The Palliative Care for Residential and Nursing Homes Awards, marking its second national award this year for excellence in palliative and end-of-life care. The award recognises Jewish Care’s specialist, compassionate support for residents and their families at the end of life.
The team is led by Paula Plaskow, End-of-Life/Palliative Care Lead, with Michelle Cohen, Pastoral Support Coordinator, and Sheryl Smith, Emotional & Wellbeing Lead. Together, they support residents and their families as part of a multi-disciplinary approach alongside care, nursing and hospitality teams, registered care home managers and GPs across Jewish Care’s nine residential and nursing care homes.
Paula Plaskow accepted the award on behalf of Jewish Care. It was presented by broadcaster and presenter Kate Garraway.
Judges said, “The Jewish Care Palliative Care Team exemplifies excellence in compassionate, person-centred end-of-life care. Through exceptional multidisciplinary collaboration, unwavering support for residents and families, and a commitment to continuous learning and best practice, they ensure every individual is treated with dignity, respect and compassion, creating meaningful experiences during life’s most important moments.”
Jewish Care’s Palliative/End-of-Life Care Team, said,
“We are incredibly proud to receive this national award, which recognises the dedication, compassion, and hard work of our care and hospitality teams in both our residential and nursing homes. We would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this achievement.
“This award means a lot and is testament to our ongoing efforts to develop and strengthen these services to make a meaningful difference to the people we care and their families across the Jewish community.”
As more people come to Jewish Care at an older age, often with increasingly complex needs and frailty, the need for high-quality palliative and end-of-life care continues to grow. The team supports clear communication with residents and their families, involves them in decision-making, and helps ensure families and close friends receive emotional support. Through personalised care plans, developed as part of a best-practice framework, the multi-disciplinary team works with residents and their families to understand what matters most to them and adapt support as their physical, cognitive, emotional, cultural and spiritual needs change.
In response to the growing need within the Jewish community, the End-of-Life/Palliative Care Team supports colleagues to monitor and assess residents closely, including understanding verbal and non-verbal communication. In the past year, 40% of new residents moving into Jewish Care homes required end-of-life care.
Speaking about the award, Jewish Care’s CEO Daniel Carmel-Brown said, “This national recognition reflects the sensitive, respectful and personalised care delivered by our dedicated staff across Jewish Care. As the number of people in the Jewish community needing end-of-life care continues to grow, we are proud of the way our teams work holistically to meet the physical, emotional, spiritual and cognitive needs of those we care for, supporting them with expertise, empathy and grace at the end of life, while also supporting their relatives and carers.”