RMD Care Wins Micro Provider of the Year at the Andor Awards

In October 2025, the team at Cams Ridge Care and Nursing Home in Portchester joined colleagues from across our homes at the Andor Awards, held aboard the Dixie Queen Paddle Steamer. We came away with the Micro Provider of the Year award, and it is one we are particularly proud of.

Not because of the award itself, but because of what we were nominated for.

Why the Nomination Mattered

The recognition centred on three things: outstanding leadership, consistency of care, and staff retention. That last one is the one we want to talk about.

In a sector where agency use has become the norm and staff turnover is a persistent problem affecting the quality of life for residents, we have taken a different path. Many members of our care teams have worked with us for decades. That is not an accident or a lucky streak. It reflects a deliberate decision to invest in the people who provide care, to build a culture where staying feels better than leaving.

"Congratulations to everyone at Cams Ridge and RMD Care. I'm so proud of all of the teams and this was a well-deserved award." Abbas Merali, CEO, RMD Care

What Staff Retention Actually Means for Residents

When a care home relies heavily on agency workers, residents are regularly cared for by people who do not know them. They do not know how someone takes their tea, what unsettles them, what makes them laugh, or what the look on their face means when they are in discomfort but cannot say so.

Familiarity is not a soft benefit in a care setting. It is a clinical one. Consistent care teams spot changes in health faster, manage behavioural presentations in dementia more effectively, and build the kind of trust with families that makes difficult conversations easier.

Across all six of our homes, we have no agency staff. That is a commitment we make to every resident and every family from the moment they choose us.

What No Agency Staff Means in Practice

We are aware that "no agency staff" can sound like an operational detail rather than something that directly affects a resident's day. It does. Here is what it looks like in practice across our homes:

• Residents are woken, washed and supported by carers who already know their preferences and routines
• Changes in mood, appetite or behaviour are noticed faster because the person spotting them knows what normal looks like for that resident
• Families build relationships with named staff rather than reintroducing themselves on every visit
• Residents with dementia, for whom unfamiliar faces can cause genuine distress, experience a more settled daily environment
• Trust builds over time in both directions, between staff and residents, and between staff and families

These things are harder to put on a certificate than a rating or an award, but they are the substance of what good care actually is.

About RMD Care

RMD Care is a family-run group that has been operating for over 30 years. We run six homes across the south of England, all currently rated Good by the CQC. We do not use agency staff across any of our homes.

About the Andor Awards

The Andor Awards celebrate care professionals and providers from across the UK, shining a light on the people who dedicate their working lives to others. The evening brought together outstanding professionals from the social care sector and recognised the teams who often go unseen while doing some of the most important work in our communities.

We are proud to have been recognised among them, and we are proud of every member of the RMD Care team whose dedication made it possible.