"She is such a huge asset"

I would like to praise one of your employees, Amanda, for her exemplary work. I first met her in February of this year when I needed help and advice in getting assistance for my parents. My Dad had Alzheimer's and both my Mum and me were caring for him. Amanda, right from the word go, was an absolute Godsend. She was empathetic, helpful, patient and had such a lovely manner about her. She was able to converse with my Dad on several occasions in a very clear, concise and humorous way which he responded well to.

She helped us navigate what was, to us, a very complicated system and got us some wonderful carers in to help.

After a few months, it was apparent that Dad needed more than carers to the house, and she helped us through the process of finding, assessing and getting him into a care home. No easy task to the uninitiated!

She also visited Dad to make sure he was settling in and to check up on how he was getting on in the home.

This was a hugely emotional and exhausting time for our family and we would have been totally lost without Amanda. She is such a huge asset to East Ayrshire Council. Anytime I thanked her she would just say that she was doing her job. However she went above and beyond. She was never rushed when seeing us and spent so much time explaining to Mum and me how the system worked and what would be in Dad's best interest.

We have been so impressed with both Amanda and East Ayrshire Council in the last few months.

Sadly Dad passed away on 4 November and his struggle with Alzheimer's is over, but I will never forget Amanda's kindness and professionalism.

Yours faithfully