Registered Manager at Sydmar Lodge Receives Gold Award for Leadership and Innovation in Social Care

Julia received the award surrounded by residents’ relatives, colleagues, and her family. Reflecting on the achievement, she said:

“It’s wonderful to be recognised, and I have really enjoyed working on these projects, but I couldn’t do this without my team. We feel honoured to be involved in this work, and I am incredibly proud of my team, as well as the residents and families at Sydmar Lodge.”

Julia and her team have supported the implementation of several digital innovations within the home, including NeuroResponse and Whzan Digital Health. Bernadette Porter, Founder of NeuroResponse CIC, said:

“In her role as Registered Manager at Sydmar Lodge, Julia demonstrates courageous leadership, with the vision and strength to lead her team to embrace new ways of working and challenge the status quo to improve care. We are grateful for the opportunity to work with her and offer our congratulations on this well-deserved recognition.”

NeuroResponse CIC was founded to improve care for people living with neurological conditions who experience urinary tract infections (UTIs). Working closely with people affected by neurological conditions, NeuroResponse co-designs responsive UTI care pathways and solutions that reduce treatment waiting times from days to hours. The organisation is proud to have been selected for the Alzheimer’s Society Innovation Programme and is working closely with Julia and her team to gather evidence demonstrating how this innovative approach improves quality of life and supports service efficiency.

Natasha Howard Murray, Head of Innovation at Alzheimer’s Society, said:

“At Alzheimer’s Society, we support and invest in innovations that not only transform the lives of people living with dementia, but also help ease the pressure on carers, loved ones, the NHS, and wider society. NeuroResponse, one of our Accelerator Programme partners, is a brilliant example of this in action, and it’s inspiring to see it being tested at Sydmar Lodge.

“We’re incredibly grateful to Julia Davey, who has been instrumental in trialling this new technology. Real-world testing like this is essential - without it, promising innovations cannot be scaled to reach the people who need them most.

“One in three people born today will develop dementia in their lifetime. We remain committed to investing in pioneering solutions to address the challenges faced by people living with dementia today, while our world-class researchers work towards the treatments of tomorrow.”
Alongside NeuroResponse, Sydmar Lodge was an early adopter of Whzan’s Blue Box digital health monitoring technology, which helps care teams identify early signs of deterioration and provide more proactive, person-centred care.