THE HEREFORD Times is proud to hold the inaugural Health and Social Care Awards 2018 to recognise the dedication of those in Herefordshire who do so much to care for us.

To celebrate, we will be featuring the nominees in the run-up to the awards ceremony and will be shining a light on to the invaluable work they do to look after those who need care and help in the county.

First up, we are delighted to announce that Zoe Wright from the Real Birth Company has been nominated for the Outstanding Contribution to Social Care Award thanks to her nomination by Olivia Criddle from Ross-on-Wye.

The Real Birth Company, based in Hereford, offers support to women, their birth partners and their babies during the antenatal and postnatal period in a relaxed and comfortable setting.

Olivia said: "Zoe goes the extra mile for pregnant and postnatal ladies. I don't know anyone that has a bad word about her."

Zoe runs workshops to help the women of Herefordshire with their labour and birth with experts on hand such as yoga instructors, lactation specialists, midwives and antenatal educators.

She has also developed her own training programme for midwives which has been accredited by the Royal College of Midwives and has travelled the UK to encourage NHS hospitals to implement her programme.

Olivia added: "She is incredible and the nicest person you will meet. Zoe wants ladies to experience a happy and healthy birth."

The winners and runners-up will be announced at a sparkling ceremony in September and nominations are open now until Friday, August 10.

Alongside nominees for The Outstanding Contribution to Social Care, we are also looking for nominations in the following categories: The Care Team; The Care Hero; The Care Home Worker; The Home Care Worker; The Good Nurse; The Care Trainer; The Dignity in Care; The Dementia Carer; The Palliative/End of Life; The Care Innovator and The Care Employer.

We are looking for nominations from the general public, public and private organisations and from health and social care professionals.

To submit a nomination visit: https://www.herefordtimes.com/awards/healthandsocialcare/