National accreditation for Vitaline

Blackpool Council’s Vitaline has been nationally recognised with three-star accreditation – putting it in the top tier of service providers in the country.

Vitaline, which has won a series of national awards over the last 12 months, provides a monitoring and response service which helps to keep older and vulnerable people safe and able to live independently in their own homes.

Management and staff at the Layton-based department underwent a rigorous inspection over several days by the industry body, Telecare Services Association, to ensure that the quality of care delivered to customers was second to none. Vitaline passed all three stages with flying colours and is now in the top five service providers in the North West.

Inspectors were keen to see all aspects of how Vitaline operates, from the time taken to respond to calls, the level of care provided to customers and the overall management of the department.

Manager, Margaret Seddon, said: “I am pleased that the work of Vitaline has been recognised with national accreditation and it is a tribute to the hard working and dedicated staff who provide an extremely important service 24 hours a day.

“However, for the thousands of people we serve in Blackpool, the most important aspect is the reassurance Vitaline provides so they can carry on living their life safe in the knowledge that if something goes wrong, we are there to help.”

Achieving national accreditation means the Blackpool service is now recognised by the government as one of the country’s top providers of Telecare and can be considered for additional funding.

Coun Lily Henderson MBE, cabinet member for adult social care at Blackpool Council, added: “This is an excellent achievement by the staff at Vitaline. There are 1.7 million people in the UK who currently use Telecare and it is important there is a national quality standard to ensure customers can differentiate between providers. I am delighted that a department of Blackpool Council has gone through a national accreditation process and is operating to the highest possible standard. Congratulations to everyone involved.”