Meet the woman helping Reading patients get better in their own homes

Michelle Gallop has been nominated as Employee of the Year in the Pride of Reading Awards.

A care manager is so impressed with an "outstanding" member of her team she has nominated her for a Pride of Reading Award.

Rebecca Hawkins, 36, business development manager at Woodley-based Bluebird Care, which supplies services to some 60 people in Reading, Berkshire, describes Michelle Gallop as “a real asset to the company, customers and the care staff she manages”.

Putting Miss Gallop, 28, forward as the 2018 Employee of the Year, Miss Hawkins said: “Michelle has been working in care for over five years. She joined Bluebird Care in 2017 and in this time has become an outstanding employee, manager, supporter and team player, and has grown her business and the number of adults we can support in the community.

“She has also grown as a person and her confidence has gone from zero to hero.

“Michelle is all about being fair and has built an amazing team, and this just continues to grow.

“Her commitment to making a difference to people in our community is inspiring and she will do everything she can to allow people to return home from hospital.

“She has a great team working with her and this is because she has set the standards and the right culture and values.

“Michelle is just a delight and she is going to go far in this business and we cannot wait to see how far she will grow.

“Michelle deserves to win this award because she is just so natural and we would not be where we are today without her in her role.

“She is joyful and a delight to work with and loved by her team.”

When told of her Pride of Reading nomination, Miss Gallop, who lives in Caversham Park Village and manages 22 carers, three office staff and 60 customers in Reading, said: “I feel absolutely elated and shocked by this nomination; the thought of my company believing in me and putting me forward for something so special is an amazing feeling. I feel very proud.”

On what she finds most rewarding about working in the care industry, she said: “The most rewarding [part of my job] is knowing I make a difference to people’s lives.

“Enabling people to remain in their own homes, to embrace their own environment for as long as possible and for them to be around all their memories that they can share and reminisce is so lovely.

“Also supporting new carers into this profession, sharing my skills and knowledge to watch them learn and grow, is very rewarding.”

The Employee of the Year Award is sponsored by Reading Buses.

The awards ceremony hosted by Chris Tarrant, will take place on Friday, November 2, at the Royal Berkshire Conference Centre in Reading.

The winners are chosen by a panel of judges.

To see the official article, please click here.