Horizon House wins '˜Best Kept Healthcare Facility' award

Horizon House, Northern Ireland Children's Hospice, has been named amongst the very best kept in Northern Ireland at the 2016 Open + Direct Best Kept Health and Social Care Awards.

The Newtownabbey based establishment won Best Kept Healthcare Facility in the Northern Trust at a recent awards ceremony.

Joining them as winners in the Northern Trust were Weavers House, Cookstown, who won Best Kept Residential Facility and George Sloan Centre, Ballymena, who won Best Kept Daycare Facility.

To win, each demonstrated their commitment to the facility’s natural surroundings – be it through attractive features, blooming foliage or simply keeping the gardens clean and tidy.

Runners-up in for each category included Magherafelt Manor, Hawthrones Adult Day Centre in Carrickfergus and Moneymore Medical Centre.

The annual Best Kept Health and Social Care Awards were held at the Appleby Social Education Centre in Armagh, with a winner and runner-up being announced from each health care trust in three categories: Best Kept Residential, Best Kept Daycare and Best Kept Healthcare.

Doreen Muskett MBE, Presiden, Northern Ireland Amenity Council, said: “The standard of entries this year was higher than ever which made selecting a winner a difficult process.

“Each health and social care facility highlighted a genuine pride for their environment with nurses and residents joining forces to craft beautiful outdoor feature areas.

“I would like to sincerely congratulate each of this year’s winning facilities, as well as runners-up, on their clear dedication to maintaining their environment.

“It is a pleasure to see so many facilities recognising the importance of this,” Doreen added.

John Laverty from sponsor Open + Direct, now part of Abbey Insurance Brokers, said: “A love of gardening and plants is something shared by many people, so it is great to see staff putting in the extra work to keep this an important part of the living environment when someone needs extra care.”