§ Dr. GodmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 8 February,Official Report, Scottish Grand Committee, column 18, in how many of the fatal accident inquiries were the managers or the owners, judged by the sheriff to have been negligent of the interests and well-being of the resident who died; and if he will make a statement.
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 27 February 1995]: It could be misleading to summarise the determinations of sheriffs on complex cases. I will therefore write to the hon. Member, enclosing copies of the relevant determinations.
Although the Government deplore the circumstances surrounding the "Glenglova" case, I would emphasise that an inquiry following the death of a resident in residential or nursing home care is not necessarily indicative of poor standards of care in such establishments.
§ Dr. GodmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 8 February,Official Report, Scottish Grand Committee, column 18, what proposals he intends to introduce in response to the recommendations of the sheriffs who conducted fatal accident inquiries into the deaths of several elderly residents of privately owned residential homes; and if he will make a statement.
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 27 February 1995]: I shall write to the hon. Member to clarify my earlier answer. This will indicate that there has in fact been only one fatal accident inquiry related to a private residential care home. The remaining six inquiries concerned private nursing home residents.
A working group is being set up to consider the registration and inspection issues concerning private and voluntary residential care establishments following the recent "Glenglova" FAI. The group will consist of Scottish Office officials and representatives from local authorities, independent providers and user groups. It is anticipated that recommendations will be put to Ministers this autumn.
Following discussion with the Department's health policy and public health directorate about the effectiveness of the Nursing Homes (Registration) (Scotland) Act 1938, health board general managers have funded a project to establish a nationally agreed and implemented set of core standards for the registration and inspection of nursing homes. The project steering group, which is chaired by the Scottish Office and includes 604W representatives of health boards, local authorities, residents and nursing home owners, will ensure that all relevant information, including the determination of FAIs following deaths in nursing homes, are considered by the project team.
These developments demonstrate the Government's commitment to protecting the more vulnerable groups in society who require either residential or nursing home care.