August 5, 2014 2.03 pm This story is over 115 months old

Top marks for Lincoln Age UK care

Quality care: A recent report from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found no faults with the service provided by the Lincoln branch of life support charity Age UK.
Emma Wells, a Lincoln Age UK charity worker who helps Bridy Betts live independently at home.

A recent report from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found no faults with the service provided by the Lincoln branch of life support charity, Age UK.

Age UK Lincoln provides support and care for people so they can live independently at home for longer.

The activity centre on Park Street is free to attend and offers events such as language or art classes, dancing, computer skills and other clubs.

CQC conducted a two-day inspection in July which included a review of care and data records, in addition to interviews.

Age UK Lincoln was assessed on how well it performed against five criteria: respecting and involving people who use services, care and welfare, safeguarding from abuse, supporting workers and monitoring quality.

Each of the criteria was deemed to be met, and feedback from users of the charity praise staff for the quality of care.

The report stated it was clear that staff “genuinely cared for the people they supported”.

The manager confirmed although they had not received any formal complaints about their home care services, any they received would be addressed in line with their complaints policy.

Staff told CQC they felt supported by the organisation and the management structures in place.

One staff member said, “I feel proud to work for Age UK. We have a good reputation which I want to maintain.”

Paul Thompson, Service Manager at Age UK Lincoln, said: “Everyone at Age UK Lincoln is really pleased with the outcome of our CQC inspection – it’s great to be recognised for the work we do to support older people to live independently at home.

“More people than ever are coming to us for help and often benefit from our other services such as cleaning and gardening.

“Our carers team currently looks after 60 people, but demand is increasing. The report comes at an ideal time as we’re looking to recruit more carers.

“Anyone who is interested in joining our carers team and working with a service that is highly commended by the CQC can come along to our recruitment day. Everyone’s welcome.”