Britain's Best Care Home 2009 is announced by the Best Care Home Awards, believed to be the only British care home awards voted on by user ballot.

PRESS DISPENSARY - Thursday, Jan 21, 2010 - Morton Grange, in Alfreton, Derbyshire, is today declared Britain's Best Care Home in the 2009 Best Care Home Awards, believed to be the only British care home awards voted on by user ballot. Regional winners in Merseyside, the Isle of Wight and Devon are also announced, together with eight runners-up.

Best-care-home.co.uk, the independent website that enables care home users, relatives and visitors to choose the country's best care homes, this morning announced the results of the 2009 Best Care Home Awards, with Morton Grange declared the overall winner, having also won the award for the Midlands region.

Voting took place from July to December 2009 through the Best-care-home.co.uk website and by post (the post meaning that many very elderly relatives and residents voted). The criteria for entry was that care homes had to be 3 star "excellent" rated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in England. Homes did not pay to be listed or to compete, and Best-care-home.co.uk is entirely independent.

More than 100 care homes were nominated for the award, which is sponsored by Equity Care, and the winners were chosen entirely on the basis of the voting. England was divided into four regions, each with a winner and two runners up, and the results are:

North of England

Winner: Red Rocks Nursing Home, Merseyside.

Runners up: Millfield, Greater Manchester and The Flowers, West Yorkshire

Midlands

Winner: Morton Grange, Derbyshire (also overall Best Care Home 2009 winner)

Runners up: Brockfield House Nursing Home, Northamptonshire and Lincolnshire House, North Lincolnshire.

South East

St Vincent, Isle of Wight.

Runners up: John Maesfield House, Oxfordshire and Dorset Lodge, Essex.

South West

Winner: Chatsworth, Devon.

Runners up: Jasmine Court Nursing Home, North Somerset and Doveridge Care Home, Devon.

On making the award, Debbie Harris, founder of Best-care-home.co.uk, says: "There can be no stronger testament for a care home than the opinions of the people who use it - the residents, relatives and visitors. In making this award, I'm able to say with hand on heart that according to the people who matter the most, Morton Grange is truly the best care home in the country for 2009."

Debbie, of Tunbridge Wells, Kent, launched Best-care-home.co.uk in July 2009, following her own frustrations in trying to find a care home for a relative, and realising that there was nothing on record to differentiate between any of the 2700 care homes with the CQC's three star 'excellent' rating.

Debbie says: "Finding a care home for a relative is tough: it's fraught with guilt and worries about whether they'll really be happy and comfortable, particularly as there are so many press stories about poor standards. Asking the people who actually use the care homes must surely be the best way of making a sound judgement. So that's what we do."

On the Best Care Home Awards, Debbie adds: "The 2009 Best Care Home Awards are a resounding success. Not only do they tell us which are truly the best care homes, and reward them, but they also tell us that up and down the country there are scores of care homes where the users are genuinely happy, comfortable, well cared for and delighted to recommend their care homes to others. It proves that you can find an excellent care home if you know where to look."

Photographs and broadcast quality video footage of the awards being given in all four regions will available from January 28, after the presentations have been made, together with winner statements. For photos, footage or to cover the presentations, please contact Debbie Harris on 07810 837 331 or email debbie.harris@best-care-home.co.uk .

Notes for editors

About Best-care-home.co.uk

Established by Debbie Harris in 2009 and funded solely by Harris, Best-care-home.co.uk aims to reassure users that there are good care homes available in England by only listing homes that have a three star 'excellent' rating from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and then inviting personal recommendations from users and relatives. The idea for the site came as a result of Debbie's own experience of trying to find a care home for a relative.

About the Best Care Home Awards

The 2009 Best Care Home Awards nominations began when Best-care-home.co.uk was launched. Users and relatives can nominate and vote for any care home in England that has a CQC three star 'excellent' rating.

About Morton Grange

Morton Grange is a purpose built 66-bed nursing and residential care home in Alfreton, Derbyshire, established for more than 20 years.

News of the 2010 Best Care Home Awards will be appearing soon.

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