Excellent rating for Women’s Aid

The service, which is based in Cumbernauld, was rated as overall “6 - excellent”, which is the highest accolade achievable.

And now MSP Jamie Hepburn has congratulated the organisation by lodging a motion in the Scottish Parliament which recognises the achievement of the service.

The rating comes after an inspection was carried out as an announced short notice visit, meaning that it was a low intensity inspection that the Care Inspectorate carries out when it is satisfied that services are working hard to provide consistently high standards of care.

The Care Inspectorate were impressed that the service is meeting it’s full aims of providing support to women and their children in Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and the surrounding areas, who have experiencing domestic abuse, whether it is mental, physical or sexual.

The report praised the Cumbernauld staff as being well motivated and enthusiastic, and highlighted the fact that they have built up an impressive bank of resources that is used to support and signpost women and their children to appropriate local services.

Mr Hepburn said: “I would like to once again extend my congratulations to North Lanarkshire Women’s Aid in Cumbernauld on such a fantastic Care Inspectorate report.

“It is clear that providing refuge and support to women and children from Cumbernauld and the surrounding area is a vital service and I am glad to say that we have a local organisation doing so to such a high standard.

“I have also been impressed by how forward thinking Women’s Aid in Cumbernauld have been especially with creating support and welcome packs for service users’ and through schemes such as Dress for Success, which help support women back into the work place. I was concerned to hear that NLC are currently undertaking a review of the service which poses questions with regards to the future of Women’s Aid in Cumbernauld, I’m sure that people throughout the area will join my in saying that it is of paramount importance that such an excellent service should remain in Cumbernauld for years to come.”