AN ORGANISATION supporting carers in East Lothian has received a prestigious award.

Carers of East Lothian (CoEL) demonstrated excellence during a rigorous assessment and has achieved the Carers Trust Excellence for Carers Award.

The organisation’s person-centred approach, focus on improving the lives of carers and genuine partnership approach with carers were highlighted as strengths of the organisation.

Overall, there was strong evidence of good service provision provided to meet carer needs, outcomes and interests.

Jess Wade, CoEL CEO, welcomed the recognition.

She said: “I am absolutely delighted to see the hard work and commitment of our skilled team of staff and volunteers recognised through this award.

“We want local carers to have the best possible support available.

“As well as recognition of the high-quality support we are providing, the Excellence for Carers process gives the opportunity to identify areas for development, and we look forward to working with local carers to take these forward.”

The dedication and values of the staff team, management team and trustees were highlighted.

The team showed a can do attitude, opportunities to overcome challenges were continually sought, and carers were at the heart of all services and all service developments.

By achieving the Carers Trust Excellence for Carers Award, CoEL was able to demonstrate the passion, commitment and enthusiasm of the team, at all levels, to provide excellent services for carers.

At the same time, there was clear staff dedication provided to case management systems, ensuring effective and efficient use across the carer service.

As well as signalling the quality of its services for unpaid carers, achieving the Carers Trust Excellence for Carers Award means CoEL’s partners, stakeholders, commissioners and funders can be confident they are partnering with local carer organisations and services that have best practice and sustainability embedded into their culture and practice.

Helen Oliver, quality and improvement manager at Carers Trust, said: “We are delighted to be able to present the Excellence for

Carers award to Carers of East Lothian.

“The passion and commitment of the teams to provide excellent services for the benefit of unpaid carers really shone through.

“The team showed a genuine can-do attitude, opportunities to overcome challenges are continually sought and carers are at the heart of all services and all service developments.

“The service is clearly creative and innovative in their approach.

“We were able to hear firsthand from carers about the positive impact of the services provided and the life-changing difference accessing the support has made.

“We very much look forward to working with them moving forwards as their services continue to thrive.”