Dalkeith carer and chef scoop coveted care titles
Care Practitioner, Slater Downing and Senior Head Chef, Ahmet Akkur at Archview Lodge in Dalkeith have been crowned with Care Practitioner of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Awards for the North East and Scotland Division in the Barchester Care Awards 2025 and are through to the national round of judging.
The Barchester Care Awards celebrate the staff who go the extra mile for the benefit of the 13,500 residents living in Barchester’s 267 care homes and private hospitals across the country. Categories range from ‘Registered Nurse of the Year’ and ‘Carer of the Year’ to ‘Dementia Care Champion’ and ‘Activities Coordinator of the Year’.
More than 5,000 nominations were received from homes and hospitals across the UK. All entries were a very high standard and Slater and Ahmet are over the moon to have been named as winners for the North Division beating hundreds of other nominees.
Slater Downing said: “I am very happy to have received this award” Head Chef, Ahmet added, “I am very proud of all we do at Archview for our residents and I am delighted to be nominated”.
As winners for North East and Scotland division, Slater and Ahmet are through to the national finals in which the overall winner is decided. They will join winners from across the UK at a special awards event in October to celebrate their outstanding achievements and discover if they have won a national award.
General Manager, Sarah Thomson, said: “This is an amazing achievement and the whole home is supporting Slater and Ahmet. We are so proud of them. Their commitment to the work that we do for our residents is exemplary a number of staff and residents voted for them because they are so amazing. We are all incredibly proud of them.
Archview Lodge is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering high-quality care across its care homes and hospitals. Archview Lodge provides nursing care, respite care.