Putting the special into specialist care

After a rollercoaster of a year in specialist care provision, the celebrations at this year’s Independent Specialist Care Awards provided a much welcomed opportunity to shine a light on the excellent work that is done day-on-day by many hundreds of people in the support of the country’s most vulnerable care service users. Hosted by healthcare intelligence provider Laing & Buisson, the event was officially opened by assistant director of business development at Mencap, Steve McIlvenny, who stressed the importance of cutting through the noise’ of bad news coverage in order to make the many thousands of excellent carers know that they are respected. His address was swiftly followed by a heartfelt speech by Mencap service user Matthew Fowler who explained how the charity’s Inspire Me programme had given him the tools to change his future. There were a record 250 nominations for the 15 categories at this year’s ISCAs, with the addition of a brand new 16th category in the shape of the Laing & Buisson Award for Service Excellence.