Bethphage's Q Team Checkers win prestigious award

Shrewsbury based Bethphage, which provides services for adults with learning disabilities, has won a prestigious award highlighting the quality and effectiveness of its work.

Hosted by BBC Radio Shropshire presenter Vicki Archer and with guest speaker, former paralympian Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson DBE, the annual Care Awards, organised by Shropshire Partners In Care (SPIC), were held at the end of March. Nominated in the Organisational Awards category, Bethphage won the Team Award for its Q Team Checkers entry.

The Q Team Checkers are group of people who have a learning disability, some of whom are employed by Bethphage and some who use Bethphage’s services. They meet monthly to have fun, share ideas, develop their skills and knowledge and learn how to do things differently. In their comments judges at the Care Awards quoted the Q Team Checkers as ‘innovative in its inclusion of people who use services.’

John Jones, who is supported by Bethphage and helped establish the Q Team Checkers in 2010, collected the award with fellow Q Checker Michelle Cooke. He said:  “Our own experiences offer a unique insight into what makes a good service as well as enabling us to provide visit and report advice. Since 2011, we have devised a quality assurance system, undertaken three year’s programme of visits and produced a DVD to help train other organisations to do the same. The Q Team has never been shortlisted for an award so to win one at its first attempt is not only great recognition of what we have achieved so far but an inspiration to the team’s future development.”