The first ever report on the quality of Childminding in Scotland has given a powerful insight into one of the nation’s most important childcare services.

A nursing expert with the sole brief to improve standards in care homes for older people has been appointed by Scotland’s care regulator.

The Care Commission’s Director of Adult Services Regulation recently met with Highland Council to discuss challenges faced by care home owners in meeting the Scottish Ministers’ National Care Standards.

{mosimage} The Scottish Executive’s response to the Care 21 report, The Future of Unpaid Care in Scotland, has been set out in the form of a 10-year vision that has four immediate priority areas for action.

The priorities are:
– Young carers: a strategic approach to ensure that young carers’ needs are addressed within the supporting children agenda
– Carers’ breaks: focused work to deliver improved access, flexibility and quality to these critical services for carers
– Carers’ health: a commitment to safeguard the health of carers
– Carer training: action to improve carer training locally through NHS Carer Information Strategies. Also to develop a national training framework to help carers develop knowledge and skills to manage their role and minimise the impact of caring on their health.

The way in which a flagship mental health day care project in Hawick was closed has come in for criticism. About 50 clients were informed of the decision to shut Springboard in the town’s Cross Wynd on 5 May.

{mosimage} More will be done to help identify children who are at risk in homes with drug-addicted parents even before they are born, ministers have pledged.
First Minister Jack McConnell said the safety of children must come first as he unveiled the Scottish Executive’s new policy Hidden Harm – Next Steps. He said “chaotic” drug abuse was incompatible with effective parenting.
The policy calls for action to improve the identification of youngsters at risk, including at the pregnancy stage. This would enable support to be given at the earliest possible stage. Drug users with children will be assessed so that a decision can be made on their capability as parents.

RCN Scotland has called on the Scottish Executive to increase the payments made to care homes to cover nursing care.  On the day (Tuesday) of the RCN Scotland Independent Sector Conference in Edinburgh, the nursing union has highlighted that nursing care payments in Scotland are the lowest in the UK and have not increased since 2002.

ProjectScotland, the revolutionary new volunteering organisation which matches young Scots to full-time community work, celebrates its 1st anniversary on Monday 8th May.  
Over the year, the organisation has received thousands of enquiries from young people from all over Scotland and has placed more than 470 volunteers into full time positions – trumping the 450 target it was set by the Scottish Executive when it launched.

East Ayrshire Council’s Social Work Committee today made a decision on the future of services for older people in East Ayrshire which will revolutionise service provision.

The Executive’s response to the Care 21 report, The Future of Unpaid Care in Scotland, is set out today in the form of a 10-year vision that has four immediate priority areas for action.