Chamber and committees

Under the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001, the Care Commission has a wide range of enforcement powers at its disposal if a care service fails to provide the quality of care which is expected. These powers include: making recommendations on a service during inspection; placing conditions on the registration of a service, and applying to the sheriff for an emergency cancellation of a service''s registration.

The Care Commission regulates to improve care services, aiming to raise the standards of care. It will use its statutory powers in a proportionate to deliver that aim. Care services can be closed for a number of reasons. Regulatory decisions under the act, including a decision to close a care service, are an operational matter for the Care Commission.

Information on the number of care providers closed down as a result of non compliance with National Care Standards following an inspection by the Care Commission is not held centrally.

You can contact the Chief Executive of the Commission at the following address:

Ms Jacquie Roberts

Chief Executive

Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care

Compass House

11 Riverside Drive

Dundee

DD1 4NY

E-mail: [email protected].

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-16140 on 17 September 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliamanet.uk/webapp/wa.search.

The work of the Care Commission is being considered as part of the Scottish Government''s response to the Independent Review of Regulation Audit, Inspection and Complaints Handling of Public Services in Scotland undertaken by Professor Lorne Crerar last year. It will be important to await the outcome of these considerations before taking any decisions on the basis of funding of the Care Commission.

The national care standards are published by Scottish ministers. The standards set out what people using care services, either now or in the future, can expect from care services, and how to raise any concerns they may have.

The Scottish Government is currently running an awareness raising campaign for the national care standards. The campaign includes a television advert; a promotional leaflet and poster which have been widely distributed to every GP surgery in Scotland as well as day care centres; and a theatre tour promoting the standards, performing in care homes for older people and day care centres across Scotland.

Copies of the national care 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

E-mail: [email protected].

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-16143 on 17 September 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-16146 on 17 September 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

I refer the member to the question S3W-16140 on 17 September 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliamanet.uk/webapp/wa.search.

The operation of its complaints procedure is an operational matter for the Care Commission.

The Care Commission is required under section 6 of the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 (the Act) to establish a complaints procedure and to investigate complaints against care services; and to keep that procedure under review.

We have no plans to change the system for investigating complaints against care service providers.

The commission is also required under the Act to make the procedure public and make it available to anyone who requests it.

Care services are required through the national care standards to ensure that care service users know how to make a complaint or comment about the service and also ensure that users are aware of the procedure for making formal complaints directly to the commission.

The Care Commission publishes the type of complaint made against a provider and the overall outcome of its investigations on its website.

The Care Commission inspects care services against the requirements of the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 (the Act), its associated regulations, and taking account of the national care standards.

The commission takes a proportionate approach to inspection depending on the risk determined by its regulatory support assessment score, its knowledge of care service compliance, regulatory history and complaints activity.

The commission does not routinely inspect care services against every national care standard at every inspection. However, the standards provide the basis for the commission''s new grading scheme which is based on a number of quality statements within four quality themes. The quality statements are based on the national care standards. This in turn means that if care services are not complying with the national care standards then they will receive a lower grade.

The commission has a wide range of powers available to it under the Act, and uses these in a proportionate and incremental way to encourage continuous improvement in care services. Making recommendations represents one of the ways in which the Care Commission can do that.

Recommendations can be made based on the quality statements and the national care standards. Recommendations are not subject to formal legal enforcement action in themselves and therefore do not necessarily result in any follow up action and would not usually require a timescale. It would, however, be open to the Care Commission to follow this up at a subsequent inspection. The commission can also go on to place requirements on a service, which would constitute formal enforcement action if the circumstances dictated.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-16146 on 17 September 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.