Chamber and committees

The Care Commission places all care service inspection reports and grades on its website. The grading system was introduced on 1 April 2008, with all care services being graded at their first inspection after that date.

There is an expectation that care services will make their inspection reports, which includes the grades, available to care service users and their carers. It is also expected that a copy of the latest inspection report be displayed within the service.

Reports of integrated inspections by the Care Commission and HMIe are published and copies sent to the services to be distributed to parents, staff and other stakeholders. The reports are placed on the HMIe website and linked to the Care Commission website for access by any interested party.

The National Care Standards set out what people using care services can expect from the provider. We have been running an awareness campaign about the National Care Standards since 30 June and we are looking at ways to extend this in Spring 2009. The standards are available online at

www.scotland.gov.uk/health/standardsandsponsorship, or from:

Blackwell''s Bookshop

53-63 South Bridge

EDINBURGH

EH1 1YS

Tel: 0131 622 8283

Fax: 0131 557 8149

Email: [email protected]

A consistent approach to grading across Scotland is being taken by the Care Commission. The National Care Standards and the requirements in the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 provide a national framework for the regulation of care services. The National Care Standards apply equally to all care services and provide the basis for the commission''s grading system.

The Care Commission''s action in relation to any recommendations or requirements on care services will vary from case to case. The application of its enforcement powers is an operational matter for the Care Commission.

The member can contact the Chief Executive of the Care Commission at the following address:

Ms Jacquie Roberts

Chief Executive

Care Commission

Compass House

11 Riverside Drive

Dundee

DD1 4NY

Tel: 01382 207102

Email: [email protected]/.

Yes, all care services are expected to meet the expectations of the National Care Standards. The Care Commission''s grading scheme is based on a number of quality statements within four quality themes. The quality statements are based on the National Care Standards.

The Care Commission regulates for improvement. Services which do not meet the National Care Standards and receive a lower grade will be expected to improve. The commission has a wide range of powers available to it under the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 which it uses in a proportionate and incremental way. The application of these powers is an operational matter for the Care Commission.

Statistics on childhood obesity are available from the Scottish Health Survey 2003 (the most recent results currently available from this source). According to these data, 8.0% of children aged five to 15 years were severely obese. Within this, there is notable variation by age and gender:

	% Severely Obese
	Boys	Girls
5 to 7 years	8.7	6.4
8 to 10 years	7.8	9.7
11 to 12 years	10.8	4.7
13 to 15 years	8.9	7.3

Source: Scottish Health Survey 2003.

Further Scottish Health Survey statistics on childhood obesity are published at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/11/25145024/50271 (see Table 5.5 on page 123).

The NHS Information Services Division also publish statistics on childhood obesity, based on the Child Health Surveillance Programme. These figures also show variation in rates of severely obese children by age and gender:

http://www.isdscotland.org/child_obesity (click on obesity statistics to access a list of available tables and charts).

Information about all child weight management activity in Scotland is not currently held centrally.

A new HEAT target was introduced in 2008 that requires each NHS board to deliver an agreed number of child healthy weight interventions. The minimum number of interventions required in each board area reflects the estimated size of the population of children aged five to 15 years whose BMI lies outwith a healthy range. Data on child weight management services will be collected as part of the monitoring and evaluation of the target.

Tayside, Lothian and Lanarkshire were part of Phase 1 of the Counterweight programme. Phase 2 of Counterweight was rolled out from April 2008 to NHS boards in Ayrshire and Arran, Grampian and Fife. Phase 3 of Counterweight was rolled out from August 2008 to NHS boards in Highland, Borders, Forth Valley, the Western Isles, Shetland and Orkney, with NHS Dumfries and Galloway due to commence delivery in 2009.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde run their own similar weight management programme.

A range of evaluations are underway or planned in support of Healthy Eating, Active Living: an action plan to improve diet, increase physical activity and tackle obesity. For example, the HEAT target tackling childhood obesity is a developmental target and will be reviewed after its first year. The requirement for the monitoring and evaluation of the interventions being delivered by each health board is currently being determined. Counterweight has evaluation component built into the contract which provides the Scottish Government and health boards with regular progress reports including preliminary results of patient interventions, clinical outcomes, health economics and qualitative research.

Chlamydia testing is not routinely provided at travel clinics.

The risks of having unprotected sex abroad are however discussed at travel clinic appointments with detailed written information provided in leaflets and also accessible at www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk.