Social Services careline wins top award again

Merton’s community careline service, MASCOT, has received a highly regarded Charter Mark Award for its services to older people and people with disability.

This is MASCOT’s second Charter Mark Award, the first coming in 1998. The service had to prove it had continuously improved since then in providing services of exceptionally high quality covering ten criteria

The service, formed in 1991 and based in Merton Park, applied for the award last July and was assessed in October before a panel of judges announced it had achieved the required standard in December. The Charter Mark will be presented at a special ceremony in February.

MASCOT is a 24-hour service offering care, security and emergency responses to Merton residents using a careline that is activated by a pendant normally worn around a person’s neck. Overall it currently has 1,600 people linked by carelines and 1,800 living in sheltered housing.

MASCOT Manager, Doug Miles, said: “This is a tremendous achievement and we are very proud of the award. We have built on our success in 1998 and shown continuous improvement. I would like to thank everyone at MASCOT for their hard work in making this happen.”

Rea Mattocks, Director of Housing and Social Services, said: “What great news for MASCOT and great news for the people in Merton that MASCOT serves. This award is very difficult to attain and even more difficult to hold on to and it proves the highest possible care is being provided to the users of the service.”