A woman has been awarded a national care award for her commitment to the care of dementia sufferers.

Elaine Carruthers, manager of Epsom’s Orchard Centre, was declared best dementia care manager in a community setting at the second annual National Dementia Congress, in Liverpool early this month.

Judges commended the work of the day centre in Longmead Road, which provides a variety of services to dementia sufferers and their families including mental health support, activity focused care and respite care.

Ms. Carruthers said: “I am delighted for myself, the team and the service users who all contribute to making the Orchard Centre the excellent service it is.

“Our service users see this as their club. They decide on their activities, they help with the day-to-day running of the centre; they have a say in how the service develops and that is how it should be.

“Everyone wants to feel needed and if service users are active, they keep their life skills and that enables them to stay independent and in their own homes for as long as possible.”

The Centre is open 24 hours a day seven days a week, and is designed so that families can leave their loved ones at the centre day or night should they find they are unable to cope with their care.