A Poole-based home care provider is celebrating after winning a national award.

Good Oaks Home Care was presented with the award for ‘Innovation in Home Care’ at the National Leaders in Care Awards held in Birmingham.

The business was named as the category winner ahead of national and international home care providers in the innovation category.

It was recognised for its commitment to taking responsibility for its carbon emissions by becoming one of the first home care providers to become carbon neutral.

As reported on dorsetbiznews, the company recently gained the Carbon Footprint Standard accreditation following an audit of its carbon emissions.

The Innovation in Home Care award recognises providers who have devised creative ways to reduce risk, improve operation efficiency and most importantly, improve outcomes for individuals.

Good Oaks was also recognised for its development of the Good Oaks Operating System for its franchise partners.

The interactive, visual repository of advice includes step-by-step guidance and a bank of template documents and is pre-installed on each computer.

The system is designed to make searching for essential documents and information much easier for staff, allowing them to find answers faster and work more efficiently and independently.

The judges also commended the ‘Above and Beyond Rewards’ programme run by Good Oaks for its staff.

The programme asks staff to record when they go the extra mile and make a positive impact on the lives of Good Oaks’ clients.

Every two months, two members of staff are chosen to receive a prize to acknowledge their commitment to providing enabling care that really makes a difference.

Zoe Kelly, Good Oaks’ Operations Director, collected the award for the company, having also been shortlisted in the Registered Manager of the Year category.

She said: “I was absolutely thrilled to accept this award on behalf of the rest of the team who work so hard to make Good Oaks stand out from care companies across the UK.

“Innovation will be so important in dealing with the many changes and challenges facing the care sector in the coming years, and we want to be at the forefront of it.

“One of the pressing issues facing all businesses is climate change and it is essential that other home care companies follow our lead, to calculate, reduce and offset their carbon emissions.

“As far as we know, we’re the only home care provider to have this accreditation and this needs to change.”