Camille Leavold, CEO of Abbots Care, is awarded MBE
Camille Leavold, CEO of Abbots Care, has been awarded the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the King’s Birthday Honours List in recognition of her outstanding contribution to homecare over the past three decades.
The honour comes as Abbots Care, Hertfordshire County Council’s lead provider of homecare services, celebrates its 30th year of operation. Under Camille’s leadership, the organisation has grown from a family-run business founded by Camille, her mother and her sister, into a multi-regional care provider delivering essential support across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Dorset.
Today, Abbots Care employs 600 care workers, delivering over 7,500 home visits each week to more than 1,300 clients.
Camille’s recognition arrives at a pivotal time for the care sector. In the past year alone, Abbots Care has seen a 66% increase in calls to its Hertfordshire HQ and a 54% rise in private client enquiries – a stark reflection of the escalating demand for home-based care.
Speaking about her MBE, Camille said:
“This has been a complete surprise, and I am utterly thrilled first of all that a leader in the caring profession has been recognised in this way, because social care is a crucial part of a caring society and is becoming ever more critical to us all every day, as the population ages.
“On a personal level I am deeply honoured, and proud, to accept this award, but it belongs to every care worker who shows up every day for those who need us most. This award is for them – the people on the front line of care, providing dignity, comfort and companionship in homes across the UK. Our sector is under incredible pressure, but it is also full of incredible people.”
Camille has been an outspoken advocate for sustainable reform in homecare, warning that the current system is at breaking point without urgent government intervention. She continues to call for increased funding and long-term policy support to safeguard the sector’s future. (Click here to see her recent interview on BBC Look East).
A respected voice in the industry, Camille also serves as a non-executive board member of the Homecare Association. In 2021, she received the inaugural Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care gold award for her leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. Abbots Care itself is rated Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission in Hertfordshire.
With the need for care growing rapidly due to an ageing population and increasing numbers of adults with complex needs, Abbots Care continues to expand, most recently recruiting 45 additional care workers to deliver an estimated 1,400 extra hours of support each week.
