Staff at a Felixstowe care home feel "honoured and delighted" after scooping a prestigious industry award.

Staff at Montague Road were invited to the East of England ceremony for the Great British Care Awards at the end of June – marking an evening of celebration after more than a year of difficult work throughout the pandemic.

The team won the palliative care/end of life award for the region, putting them in contention for an award at the national finals held at the ICC in Birmingham next month.

It comes after its Sanctuary Supported Living service was given an "outstanding" rating by the Care Quality Commission – with the care home recognised for providing care and support at the highest standard while offering 24/7 wellbeing support for residents without a family.

Ipswich Star: Montague Road is a a CQC-rated ‘Outstanding’ nursing home in FelixstoweMontague Road is a a CQC-rated ‘Outstanding’ nursing home in Felixstowe (Image: Sanctuary Supported Living/Stephen Waller)

Judges at the ceremony on June 30 said: “Wow, what an amazing place and a fabulous team led by Milly and Debbie.

"It is their commitment to caring for their clients and truly getting to know them that allows the whole team to play an important role at the end of their lives.

“There was numerous examples given of how the team from chefs to housekeepers right through to senior management went out on a limb for each and every client that had passed to get that moment and the time that leads up to it just right for the individual along with a resolute desire to ensure that memories live on.”

Milly Gaskin, Sanctuary Supported Living’s local nursing home manager, said it is an "absolute honour" to receive the award:

She said: “It’ is an absolute honour that the whole team at Montague Road has been recognised for the work we do, particularly following such a difficult year where the pandemic has meant we’ve needed to find alternative approaches to supporting residents and their families in a Covid-safe way.”

Sanctuary Supported Living’s operations director, Sara Keetley, added she is "incredibly proud" of the "remarkable" team.

She said: “It takes a very special kind of person to approach that with the compassion it needs – and we’re lucky to have a whole team of them.”