West Vale care home wins national award for COVID-19 response

Angelcare Residential Living is a private care home situated on a historic Georgian property in West Vale.

A family run business with three generations of experience in care, they opened Calderdale’s only fully private care home in August 2020 following a £500,000 refurb of the premises, previously used as the Ingwood Restaurant in in the 1970s and 80s.

Originally planned to open in early 2020, Angelcare chose to delay the opening of their home so that it could be used by the local authority as a place for COVID-19 patients to stay and isolate.

Additionally, they implemented an innovative, state of the art infection control procedure during this time. Upon opening to residents, their care planners trained specifically in mental health awareness to combat the impact of loneliness and isolation on their residents, as well as developing an app that allows families to keep up to date with their loved ones care completely remotely.

As a result of these, the home was awarded ‘COVID-19 Community Champion’ at the Great British Business and Community Awards, beating over 1600 other applicants.

Thomas Enefer, Director of Angelcare, commented “It was a hard decision for us to take, delaying the opening of our home in 2020, and had a significant financial impact on the business, but we knew it was the right choice as we all had to come together to protect the most vulnerable people in Calderdale”.

“We’re proud to have done what we did, as well as the investments we’ve made in ensuring the home is as safe as it can be going forward. Angelcare has always been about providing a home away from home, so the safety, comfort and wellbeing of our residents is always of top priority”.

The home has since opened and is now approaching full capacity, although Thomas says the team will always endeavour to accommodate guests.

“We always want to keep some availability for urgent care or respite patients, so if anyone needs a short stay or help that loved ones aren’t qualified to give, our doors are always open”.