Every year, Bluebird Care Sheffield and Chesterfield pauses to do something that matters just as much as the care we deliver every single day: saying thank you. Our 2026 Carer Appreciation Day brought colleagues together from across all our services for an afternoon of celebration, community spirit and recognition. In keeping with the compassion that sits at the heart of everything we do, the event also raised an incredible £809.65 for the Alzheimer's Society.
The day was organised with real care and attention by our Carer Appreciation Day committee, supported by a wonderful line-up of local contributors who brought music, crafts, food, face painting and plenty of fun to the celebration. It gave our teams a well-earned opportunity to relax, connect and enjoy each other's company away from their usual working days. But at the centre of the afternoon was something even more meaningful: the presentation of this year's Care Awards.
Seven awards were presented this year, recognising outstanding individuals across our palliative care, domiciliary care, complex care and night care services. Most of these awards were peer-nominated, decided by colleagues who see first-hand the dedication their teammates bring to their work every day. Two further awards were nominated directly by the customers and families who receive our care in Sheffield and Chesterfield, giving the people we support a voice in recognising the carers who mean so much to them.
Behind every visit, every night shift and every carefully planned care package is a person who has chosen to make caring for others their life's work. Our teams work around the clock, 365 days a year, to deliver high-quality home care to people across Sheffield, Chesterfield and North East Derbyshire — often supporting people and families through some of the most vulnerable and difficult moments of their lives. The skill, patience and compassion this requires can be easy to overlook from the outside, which is exactly why days like this matter so much.
Reading through this year's nominations, several themes stood out time and again: patience, compassion, reliability and an unwavering commitment to treating every person with dignity and respect. Whether it's a palliative care team member offering quiet reassurance in someone's final days, a domiciliary carer building trust over months and years of visits, or a night carer providing comfort when the rest of the world is asleep, these are the qualities that define brilliant home care — and that our customers and their families tell us matter most.
This year's award winners were:
- Palliative Care Team Member of the Year: Edna May Taylor Collins
- Domiciliary Care Team Member of the Year (Sheffield): Manjit Kaur
- Complex Care Team Member of the Year: Precious Adenuga
- Care at Night Service Team Member of the Year: Annmarie Wood
- Customers Outstanding Care Award: Memory Matamba
- Domiciliary Care Team Member of the Year (Chesterfield): Shupi Carol Muzenda
- Sue West Award for Outstanding Care Delivery: Sonia Braga
Full profiles of each winner, and the stories behind their awards, are shared below.
The final award of the day holds particular significance. The Sue West Award for Outstanding Care Delivery is named in memory of Sue West, one of Bluebird Care Sheffield's earliest carers when the company began in 2009. Sue was known and loved by colleagues and customers alike for her reliability, organisation and can-do attitude, and for consistently going above and beyond to make sure the people she supported were never let down. Following Sue's death in October 2021, the award was created in her honour, recognising a carer each year who embodies the same outstanding qualities Sue was known for. This year, that carer is Sonia Braga.
Carer Appreciation Day is about far more than seven awards. It's a chance to say thank you to every single member of our team — carers, coordinators, supervisors and support staff — whose hard work and dedication make Bluebird Care what it is today. To everyone who works with us, who supported the day, and who continues to deliver outstanding, person-centred home care across Sheffield, Chesterfield and North East Derbyshire: thank you.
If you'd like to find out more about the home care services we provide across Sheffield and Chesterfield, our friendly team would be happy to talk you through how we can help you or a loved one.
