Carers Trust Crossroads West Wales has been named the first-ever winner of the Care 24 Award.

The organisation was one of three nominated for the brand-new category at the Carmarthenshire Care Awards, which took place at Parc y Scarlets on Friday, November 22.

The Care 24 Award was introduced this year to recognise an organisation that had gone above and beyond to enhance skills and improve the quality of care for the community.

Carers Trust Crossroads West Wales, a network partner of the Carers Trust, provides practical and emotional support to carers, giving them crucial respite time and offering free, confidential guidance across Carmarthen, Llanelli, and Ceredigion.

Karen Samuel, operations manager at Carers Trust Crossroads West Wales, said: "Carers are a crucial part of our community, and we want to make sure that carers across the sector have access to the support they need.

"We are fortunate to have such dedicated care professionals in Carmarthenshire.

"Our aim is to ensure the support we provide empowers them to deliver the highest quality of care, meeting the needs of those they support and achieving positive outcomes for those who receive a service.

"It means so much to have received the first-ever Care 24 Award for our work.

"We place our carers and those they support at the heart of everything we do, and we hope that carers across Carmarthenshire will continue to benefit from this for years to come."

Also nominated for the award were PLANED, an organisation that supports entrepreneurs in establishing their own care enterprises, and Catre Ltd., who offer a positive outlook on residential care to those with learning disabilities or mental health needs.

Tim Gill, Care 24 co-ordinator, said: "Carers Trust Crossroads West Wales has gone above and beyond to improve their skills, exemplifying the core values that the Care 24 Award aims to celebrate.

"We have so many dedicated care professionals across Carmarthenshire whose hard work deserves to be acknowledged.

"We’re thrilled to be able to name Carers Trust Crossroads West Wales as the winner of our first-ever Care 24 Award."

Developed by Coleg Sir Gar, the Care 24 programme aims to strengthen the care sector in Carmarthenshire by supporting the improvement of skills and knowledge for individuals across the county.