Lincolnshire charity LIVES, which provides life-saving emergency care, rated ‘good’
A charity which provides life-saving emergency care has been rated ‘good’ by inspectors.
LIVES (the Lincolnshire Integrated Voluntary Emergency Service), whose volunteer Community First Responders provide rapid first-response emergency care across the county received a positive report following a visit from the care Quality Commission.
“This rating is poignant not only for the staff at LIVES, but also for the volunteers across the charity who give up their time to be there for the people of Lincolnshire. It is a recognition of their dedication, and the vital role LIVES continues to play in the community,” said CEO Nikki Cooke.
“Every day our volunteers and medical teams are making a difference, and this rating reflects their commitment and professionalism.”
Founded more than 50 years ago, LIVES has grown from a small volunteer-led initiative into a vital county-wide service.
Its network of trained volunteers and commissioned medical teams operate across Lincolnshire, responding to 999 calls, providing expert medical care, and supporting the health care system.
This CQC rating highlights the charity’s dedication to maintaining professional standards, ensuring patient safety, and delivering care effectively.
The rating reflects five key areas of the charity’s work, all of which have been rated good: whether services are safe (protecting people from harm), effective (achieving good outcomes), caring (treating people with compassion, kindness, and dignity), responsive (meeting people’s needs and adapting to change), and well-led (with strong leadership and governance in place).
In its report, the CQC highlights: “The service had a shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and understanding challenges and the needs of people and their communities.
“The service had inclusive leaders at all levels who understood the context in which they delivered care, treatment and support. They embodied the culture and values of their workforce and organisation.
“Leaders had the skills, knowledge, experience, and credibility to lead effectively. They did so with integrity, openness and honesty.”
Hil Gibb, chair of trustees at LIVES added: “The CQC’s rating is a powerful acknowledgement of the unwavering commitment shown by everyone connected to LIVES. As trustees, we see first-hand the dedication of our volunteers, staff, and medical teams, who give their time and expertise to support communities across Lincolnshire, under the guidance of the same strong leadership team that has been in place over the last 16 months. It is a privilege to help steward an organisation that makes such a tangible difference every single day.
“This outcome reflects both their professionalism and the trust placed in LIVES by the people we serve.”