British Nursing News Online

WWW.BNN-ONLINE.CO.UK

Saturday, 20 April 2024

Tuesday, 04 July 2006 09:56

BNN: British Nursing News Online · www.bnn-online.co.uk

New system to rate care services

Care homes and childminders across Scotland will be given ratings under a new, easy-to-follow grading system to help customers compare services.

The Care Commission, the official watchdog, who regulates care services by registering, inspecting, and investigating complaints, is adopting the same point scale used by school inspectors to assess education standards.

Homes will be marked one to six according to the quality of life available to residents, the living environment, staffing and management.

The move is expected to make it easier for people to choose homes that meet their requirements and give owners an incentive to drive up standards.

A pilot is planned before the end of the year and it is hoped the scheme will be rolled out across Scotland by the end of 2008.

During the pilot, homes will first assess themselves using the new criteria, which are based on the national care standards set by Scottish ministers.

When the commission in-spects the premises it will verify the scores and take the final decision on the grades earned.

Several factors will be taken into account under the four headings. The staffing score will cover staffing levels, competence and turnover.

People will ultimately be able to find the home's registration and results on the Care Commission's website.

David Wiseman, director of strategic development with the Care Commission said: "This is an exciting step forward for the Care Commission … We will be able to better assess the success and reaction when the pilot period concludes in March 2007”.

Joe Campbell, chairman of Scottish Care which represents independent care home owners, said: "We are happy to be involved in trying to devise a system which is fair and understandable. Everyone should know exactly what they can expect from a care home”.

- 0 comments on this story

Sponsored by The Nursing Portal