It was just what the doctors ordered.

Two top performers from Welsh National Opera gave an intimate performance just for the residents of Pendine Park care homes.

Doctors Diva and Divo – alias the “singing doctors” Zoe Milton Brown and David Graham – gave show-stopping performances in four one hour shows for residents of the care groups’ Bryn Bella, Bodlondeb, Penybryn, Cae Bryn and Hillbury homes.

The award winning care organisation is a Gold Community champion for their support of Welsh National Opera and its ground-breaking three year community project in Wrexham.

The homes also regularly welcome the Hallé orchestra as visitors.

Pendine Park’s artist in residence Sarah Edwards explained: “We thought this WNO project would translate well for our residents. We are very proud to be Gold Community Champions and have supported WNO in its ‘Nine Stories High’ project in Wrexham.

“The therapeutic values of music are well documented and it’s wonderful for some of the relatives to witness how it brings a smile to the faces of our residents.”

WNO corporate development officer, Catrin Joy said: “A group of our artistes have visited Wrexham Maelor Hospital singing to patients in a whole range of situations and it’s gone really, really well.”

WNO also plan community outreach projects in Caia Park this spring. “Last year we concentrated on the story of Wrexham and this year we are concentrating on the voice. The third year is in development and will bring together lots of little projects to show the Wonders of Wrexham,” said Catrin.

WNO’s Singing Doctors residency at the hospital will run until June. The project aims to use music to boost the health, well-being, sense of expression and community amongst residents, patients, visitors and staff, in hospitals and homes.

Soprano Zoë Milton-Brown (Dr Diva) was born in South Wales and graduated from Christ’s College, Cambridge, where she was a choral scholar.

She studied singing with Italian soprano Iris dell’Acqua before winning an entrance scholarship to the Royal Northern College of Music.

She has performed in masterclasses in London and Vienna as well as being invited to appear in concerts and masterclasses in the Festival International d’Eté de Nice.

But at Pendine Park she was melting the heart of Highfield resident John Galley, formerly of Hoole, Chester.

John, who has MS, worked at Castrol in Stanlow for 30 years. “The music was very good, really professional and I really enjoyed it,” he said.

Senior care practitioner Tracy Green, who organises the Music Therapy at Pendine Park, was delighted that the residents had been given such a “wonderful musical tonic”.

She said: “The residents gain real pleasure and enjoyment out of music and it’s just fantastic that world class singers from WNO have come to support our projects to enrich people’s lives with disabilities through the medium of music .”

Songs from The Student Prince and West Side Story were also sparking memories for residents Joanne Davies and Eileen Lewis who were singing along with the handsome Dr Divo.

Tenor David Douglas was born in Ayrshire and trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow and the Royal Northern College of Music. He has worked with companies as diverse as Buxton Opera Festival, Phoenix Opera, and Opera Engine.

“At the hospital we sang for patients in the Alzheimer’s ward, the cancer recovery ward, the mental health unit and the children’s ward. It was a really lovely experience,” he said.

More than 60 Pendine residents got the chance to listen and take part in the WNO workshop sessions.

A ground-breaking care organisation has struck gold.

Wrexham-based Pendine Park has become one of only a handful of social care companies across the UK to receive the coveted Investors in People Gold Award.

The IIP success marked a unique double for the organisation.

It’s believed Pendine Park is the only care organisation in Britain to achieve the accolade while also having the ISO 9002 quality assurance accreditation.

Pendine Park was the first nursing home in the United Kingdom to be awarded ISO 9002 exactly 20 years ago, or  British Standard 5750 as it was known then.

The IIP Gold Award was presented to proprietors Mario Kreft MBE  and his wife, Gill, at a special ceremony by Wrexham AM Lesley Griffiths, who is also the Welsh Health Minister.

The event was attended by residents, relatives and staff representing all their seven care homes.

Lesley Griffiths said: “It’s always fantastic to hear about a good news story like this in the area and I was delighted to have the opportunity of presenting this richly deserved award to Pendine Park.

“I was previously Deputy Minister for Science, Innovation and Skills for 16 months and IIP was part of my portfolio so I know how much hard work and dedication is involved in achieving the gold standard.

“IIP Gold is a rare accolade and is recognition of the constant quest to innovate and raise standards.

“This is a tribute to everybody who works at Pendine Park because this award could not have been achieved without their commitment to developing a framework of best practice.

“Upskilling our workforce and developing them is really important if we want to provide the best possible care and the fact that Pendine Park has attained gold shows they take that very seriously and I’m delighted a Wrexham firm is once again at the forefront.”

Among those joining in the celebrations was residents’ representative Alan Hassall.

He said: “The Investors in People Gold Award shows that people are really getting cared for at the top level, no matter how disabled or enabled they are.

“The residents are helped to do things that they wouldn’t have been able to do on their own, and I think it’s lovely.

“When people mention care homes, you just think of old people going in there to sit in their chair all of the time – that’s not the case here because there are so many activities.”

It was a sentiment echoed by relatives’ representative Malcolm Crosbie whose beloved wife Audrey passed away recently.

Mr Crosbie added: “It’s yet another accolade for Pendine Park and it’s well deserved because I doubt you’d find a better place anywhere.”

It was a proud day for Mario and Gill, who was the main architect of the detailed IIP strategy which took in the whole organisation.

As part of the process, more than 80 members of staff were interviewed privately by the independent IIP assessor.

Mr Kreft said: “We’re absolutely delighted because it’s been such a team effort. It’s been a long journey, but we think it is exactly the right thing for care organisations to aim for and then hopefully to succeed in.

“To get the gold award you have to meet at least 165 of the 200 criteria and the team met a 178 of them.

“This is not about having a kite mark, it’s about creating an ethos and a structure that all of the team can believe in so that we can actually translate this to better services through better training and development opportunities for our people.

“This is a very rare accolade and we’re extremely pleased to be joining a very elite group of organisations in the UK.

“I would encourage all those involved in the social care sector to invest time in securing Investors in People accreditation.

“It naturally follows that achieving IIP recognition and sustaining it will ensure that standards in social care will continue to improve and will be consistent and that’s got to be good news for the customers, for the people who receive the services and their families.

“Our clear purpose and vision is very simple. It’s about ensuring the best care for people, the best possible development and training opportunities for our staff, being a stable and sustainable organisation and importantly being a sector leader, and I think today has shown that we are delivering on all of those for objectives.”