Stanmore nurse shortlisted for a prestigious dementia award

 

A nurse at a care home in Stanmore is celebrating after being nominated for a prestigious national dementia award.

Kim Gunda, a nurse at Care UK’s Woodland Hall on Clamp Hill, has been nominated for Care Registered Nurse of the Year at this year’s National Care Awards 2024. The awards recognise teams and individuals that demonstrate innovation, dedication and exceptional service within the long-term care sector.

After joining Woodland Hall in 2021 as a Care Registered Nurse, Kim was quickly promoted to Unit Manager Clinical in 2022 where she actively supports and oversees the home’s care and nursing teams.

Taking a hands-on approach, Kim understands residents’ needs extremely well because she attends weekly multidisciplinary meetings and GP rounds throughout every part of the home.

Her dedication to Woodland Hall has even seen her turn down a more senior role at a neighbouring care home because it would have been like “leaving her family behind”. Her commitment to providing the highest levels of care has seen her go above and beyond to support her team members by ensuring they receive regular opportunities to grow their professional skills. 

Always eager to share her knowledge and best practices, in addition to providing a thorough induction for new starters, Kim takes the time to offer supplementary training to share her skills. She is particularly driven to support new overseas nurses and was the proctor for two who joined Woodland Hall, helping them to successfully obtain qualifications needed for their roles.  

With unwavering empathy and a caring heart, Kim takes the time to listen to her colleagues which has helped her in her role as the home’s Equality and Diversity Champion. She is also passionate about creating a safe and welcoming space in Woodland Hall, which is open and accepting of all the team’s and residents’ differences, including nationalities, backgrounds and sexual orientation.

A team member said: “[Kim is] dedicated, hardworking, extremely organised and focused on continuously learning and developing best practices to manage routine activities on a daily basis, both efficiently and effectively. She goes well beyond what is expected of her to make sure that each resident at Woodland Hall has his or her care needs met. Whenever I approach her with a question or a concern, she’s always ready to listen and is quick to find out the answer or solution and respond to it.”

Commenting on the nomination, Kim said: “It’s an incredible honour to be shortlisted for this award and to be in this role and lead a fantastic nursing team who ensure Woodland Hall is not just a care home, but a place where residents feel happy, respected, and truly at home. This shortlisting is a reflection of the amazing effort and passion that everyone here brings to their roles every day.”

Laurentiu Iordachescu, Home Manager at Woodland Hall, added: “We are thrilled that Kim has been shortlisted for Care Registered Nurse of the Year in the National Care Awards 2024 – a true testament to her hard work and passion for the sector.

“Kim works incredibly hard to support residents with her compassionate, person-centred care, and this shortlisting shows just how dedicated she is at looking after every individual’s needs. She is an inspiration to us all and we’re all extremely proud of her – we are all keeping our fingers crossed for a win later this year!” 

The 2024 National Care Awards are taking place on Friday 29th November at the ExCeL in London.

Woodland Hall has been designed to deliver the very best standards of care and to enable residents to live active and fulfilled lives. The home provides full-time residential, nursing and specialist dementia care, as well as short-term respite.