Much-loved Kitchen Assistant at Peterborough care home receives Long Service Award

Georgina Anderson started working at Hampton Grove September 13 2011 and has been a key member of the hospitality team, supporting their residents and relatives to ensure that their needs have been met over the years.

She has overcome many obstacles in her time at Hampton Grove, one of which being her learning disability. After being told she didn’t have to work Georgina was determined to prove that having a disability shouldn’t stop you from achieving any aspiration.

Fresh out of college, Georgina applied for a role as a kitchen assistant after obtaining a level 2 NVQ in hospitality and catering as well as a food hygiene certificate. She had heard about the job from a friend who already worked there. Georgina has been described as hardworking and extremely motivated, always keeps up with regular training and is often receiving praise from staff and residents.

Georgina’s work experience as a kitchen aid in the Salvation Army has been extremely beneficial to her role and has proved how diligent she is.

Since starting at Barchester 10 years ago Georgina has taken on multiple roles in the home from laundry, to hostess and back to the kitchen; demonstrating her flexibility and versatility. She has since been in the kitchen for six years where she is able to make a difference to the resident’s lives on a daily basis by providing the best nutritional care. Her role consists of preparing food, washing up and providing residents with handmade birthday cakes.

Georgina has been a friendly face in the home since she started and is an approachable part of the community. For Georgina, her best achievement in the job is when residents come to her personally to thank her or tell her they’ve enjoyed her meals, for her it shows how her job is improving the lives of our residents and it demonstrates how even the littlest of actions can make a big difference.

At 32, Georgina wants to continue working with us here and would even like to try some different roles such as working on the activities team, where she can gain even more engagement with the residents. Georgina had always wanted to work with children or the elderly and has demonstrated that learning disabilities are

not an obstacle to success. Hampton Grove have been supportive with her endeavours by providing materials to aid her learning and help her overcome any challenges.

Georgina’s story is one of inspiration and as a thank you for her 10 years of brilliant service she was gifted a gold Barchester pin, a £250 voucher and a bouquet of flowers by the home manager; Krzysztof Krzysztofiak. Her family, friends and community at Hampton Grove care home are all extremely proud of her and her achievements.

In the same week, the home also applauded Inga Bundziniece on receiving ‘Employee of the Month’ for August. Inga was nominated for her commitment, hard work and always getting jobs completed in a friendly and timely manner.

She is thought of as a great asset to the team and, in a short period of time, has built up good relationships with residents and their families. Her reliability, problem solving skills and willingness to take on responsibilities really make a difference to others.

Inga has consistently demonstrated a positive attitude and working towards team goals.

Jane McFarlane, Employee Services Director at Barchester said: “I’m always pleased to hear stories about the long service of Barchester staff and am delighted Georgina has achieved this milestone. Barchester Healthcare love to recognise hard work and dedication and our Employee of the Month is another way for us to highlight our staff, I’m so pleased for Inga. Employees like this ensure our residents are provided with a happy place to live.”