Care homes ‘fail elderly through poor staff vetting’

Care homes ‘fail elderly through poor staff vetting’
Nearly half of all homes for elderly people in England are failing to vet staff properly, says the Commission for Social Care Inspection. Children’s homes (57 per cent) and fostering services (64 per cent) performed significantly better at recruitment and vetting than adoption agencies (35 per cent) in the same report.
Source:- Daily Telegraph, Thursday 15 June 2006, page 15
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Blair to tighten parole laws
Mr Blair announced that John Reid, the home secretary, would bring forward legislation to strengthen the parole system for early release.
Source:- Daily Telegraph, Thursday 15 June 2006, page 4
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Labour bows to ‘get tough’ prison lobby
Boast of 1,000 locked up indefinitely while new rehabilitation scheme shelved.
Source:- The Guardian, Thursday 15 June 2005, page 1
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Creation of super-union to go ahead in spite of GMB pull-out
Merger plans to create Britain’s biggest union will go ahead in spite of a decision to pull out by one of the potential partners, union leaders said last night.
Source:- The Financial Times, Thursday 15 June 2005, page 3
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Crystal meth gets class A rating
Crystal meth, the highly addictive stimulant, is to be ranked as a class A drug, the government has announced.
Source:- The Times, Thursday 15 June 2006, page 15
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Ban all junk foods before 9pm, says watchdog
Adverts for chocolate bars, crisps and fizzy drinks should be treated like sex, swearing and graphic violence and banned from television before 9pm, the Food Standards Agency says.
Source:- Daily Telegraph, Thursday 15 June 2006, page 1
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Scottish news
 
Public sector told to sort itself out
Tom McCabe will today challenge councils, enterprise agencies, health boards and the rest of the public sector to suggest radical ways of working together or face reform imposed from above.
The finance minister will issue his call for ideas in a long-awaited discussion paper, which will be followed by meetings with key workers in public bodies over the summer.
The paper is expected to refer to current initiatives such as councils sharing back-office services and joint working between agencies, and ask how these might help streamline and improve work in future.
Source:- The Herald, Thursday 15 June 2006
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Volunteer chief quits over view on gays
Bashir Maan, the Muslim community leader, has been forced to resign as president of the Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations because of a public attack on homosexuality.
The chairwoman of the SCVO’s management board, Joan Stringer, wrote to Mr Maan following a letter to The Herald last month in which he deplored the introduction of gay sex education in schools.
He wrote that gay sex education “will encourage experiments of homosexuality among young children and add to the growing creed of homosexuality”.
Source:- The Herald, Thursday 15 June 2006
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Boy aged seven collapses in class from methadone
An investigation has been launched after a seven-year-old boy collapsed in his primary classroom after taking the drug methadone.
The boy complained of feeling unwell and later collapsed in class at a school in Inverness after taking the heroin substitute.
The boy is not from a drug-dependent family and was not deemed to be at risk in any way.
Source:- The Herald, Thursday 15 June 2006
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Action on abuse call
Children’s charity Barnardo’s has called for a nationwide network of community workers to help child prostitutes.
The call came after a study found their Glasgow street team – the UK’s only one – helped three out of four sexually exploited under-18s they met and cut their risk of abuse.
Source:- The Record, Thursday 15 June 2006
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Voice of Scotland
While there are many jobs available in the care sector, knowing where to start can be difficult. Carole Wilkinson chief executive of the Scottish Social Services Council, offers advice for those looking for a career in this area
Source:- The Record, Thursday 15 June 2006

Caring for Scotland
For many, the idea of working as a carer seems much too daunting. Dealing with people who have complex and often challenging needs is something many of us wouldn’t feel cut out for.
But there are a huge range of different professions within the care sector which can offer a rewarding and varied career. The article talks to some of them.
Source:- The Record, Thursday 15 June 2006

Welsh news
Obese Wales: we are too fat to treat
The obesity epidemic sweeping Wales has now led to some patients in Wales being too fat to be treated, experts have warned..
The warning comes after a 22-stone man was refused an MRI scan because he was too heavy for the table.
Source:- Western Mail, Thursday 15 June 2006
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