HOME care workers in York have got the thumbs-up from elderly people in a survey by the city council.

Ninety-three per cent of elderly residents receiving home care said they were satisfied with the service they received, and 98 per cent said that their carers were understanding, gentle and honest.

Eight out of ten customers praised the service provided by the council, with 94 per cent of respondents saying that they could not manage without the help they received and 90 per cent agreeing that it enabled them to stay in their own homes.

Some 1,215 users of the council's home care service received a questionnaire as part of a requirement to provide the Department of Health with information about local services and 73 per cent of those contacted responded.

Compulsory questions included:

Do your care workers come at a time to suit you?

If you ask for changes in the help given, are those changes made?

Does anyone contact you from Social Services to check that you are satisfied with the home care you receive?

Overall, how satisfied are you with the help from Social Services

that you receive in your own home?

More than half of the respondents (52 per cent) said they were happy that their care workers always came at a time that suited them, and 40 per cent said that they usually came at a time to suit; 79 per cent of respondents agreed that changes were made when they asked for them, and half the respondents (53 per cent) said that they had been contacted to check whether they were satisfied with the service.

Dawn Foster, quality assurance manager, City of York Council, said: "We're really encouraged by the results of the survey, which are a credit to the hard work and dedication of the care workers.

"We're particularly pleased that 98 per cent of our customers nearly always see the same care workers. This consistency enables them to build a strong relationship, which can help with some of the more difficult parts of the carer-patient relationship.

"The survey also highlighted areas where the service could be better, and we will be working to improve on these things in the next few months."

The results of the survey will be forwarded to the Department of Health to be used in their assessment of the council's social care services.

Updated: 09:05 Tuesday, July 08, 2003