408 care employers in Lincolnshire could find you

Working in care in Lincolnshire

Big skies, long roads: how does care work fit together across Lincolnshire?

Lincolnshire County Council covers a wide, mostly flat county of farmland and small towns, stretching from Gainsborough on the Trent down to the Fens and out to the coast. It is thinly populated: South Holland, around Spalding, is among the most sparsely settled tenth of council areas in England. Care homes outnumber home care agencies here, which is the reverse of many counties. Lincoln has by far the most employers, then Spalding, Grantham and Boston, with Gainsborough, Sleaford, Louth and Mablethorpe after them.

The coast is older again. East Lindsey, which takes in Louth, Mablethorpe and Skegness, had a median age of 52 at the 2021 census, the highest in the East Midlands and twelve years above England's. Boston is different again: around one in five residents aged three and over has a main language other than English.

Outside Lincoln, a car makes most jobs easier. Where there is no regular bus, the county's CallConnect service runs bookable minibuses within areas of up to 12 miles, from 7am to 7pm on weekdays and 8am to 6pm on Saturdays. That can work for a care home day shift, but not for an early call or a Sunday.

Lincolnshire County Council's direct payments policy covers employing a personal assistant yourself or paying a self-employed one, and its Direct Payments Support Service keeps a list of available PAs. United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust runs Lincoln County Hospital, Pilgrim Hospital in Boston, Grantham and District Hospital and County Hospital Louth, in a group with Lincolnshire Community Health Services. Boston College lists 28 Health and Social Care courses, and Grantham College runs a Foundation Degree for people already working in care.

79% of the inspected care employers in Lincolnshire are rated Good or Outstanding by the CQC, below the 82% across the East Midlands and below England as a whole (85%).