West Lothian Council has been hailed as leading the way in providing low cost, high quality free personal care for the elderly.
A recent report from the respected independent think tank, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, singled out West Lothian Council as an “example of good practice”, demonstrating that “it is possible to provide high-quality services while maintaining low relative expenditure.”
The report also states that “performance indicators place West Lothian in the first five Scottish local authorities in respect of nine of 16 indicators”, adding that West Lothian Council’s services were “supporting people effectively at home to maintain their independence, choice and quality of life, thus achieving policy goals shared by Scottish local authorities.”
Grahame Blair, West Lothian Council’s Head of Social Policy, said: “ We are delighted that this report has recognized our achievements in providing a cost effective, quality free personal care service.
“ I’d like to pay tribute to all the hard working staff in West Lothian who have been instrumental in delivering this level of service.
“ This report, together with our recent very positive Social Work Inspection Agency (SWIA) report on Social Policy services, demonstrates the high quality of care, support and protection which is in place for those people in West Lothian who need it.”
Councillor Isabel Hutton, West Lothian Council’s spokesperson for Social Policy added: “ I’m very pleased to see our free personal care programme has been recognised by one of the largest independent social policy research and development charities in the UK.
“ It’s testament to the hard work of all the West Lothian Council staff who have helped deliver such an important and value for money service.”
For more information, see the Free Personal Care in Scotland: recent developments report available to download free from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation website at www.jrf.org.uk/
Issued by media and communications officer Ewen McNamee
Wed, 04 Jul 2007 00:21:57
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