Looked after young people

In terms of health, looked after and accommodated children and young people in Scotland represent one of the most vulnerable groups in society.

The Scottish Healthy Care Network, which promotes the health and wellbeing of young people in care, recently reported that their health outcomes remain "comparatively and significantly poorer" than young people without a history of care.

While many young people will have health problems linked to their social and family backgrounds, and are more likely to take risks with their health, there is also evidence to suggest that the care system can have a negative impact on their access to healthcare.

In the Social Work Inspection Agency's recent report Extraordinary Lives, one of the six key messages identified was that "being moved frequently from one care setting to another is damaging, and often restricts access to education and health care."

This echoes the findings of the Residential Health Care Project, whose 2004 report, "Forgotten Children", stated that "a history of unmet need" could be "compounded by the lack of our current health care systems to adapt to the needs of a mobile population, by difficulties of tracking children and young people, and of communication between and within agencies."

More recently, the Scottish Government report called Looked After Children and Young People: We can and Must Do Better highlighted the importance of physical, mental and emotional wellbeing in facilitating positive educational outcomes.

In recent years, the role of the LAAC (Looked After and Accommodated Children's) Nurse has been developed to support carers looking after young people. LAAC Nurses are now employed by several local authorities, and liaise between social work and health services to improve access to health care services when needed.

The Scottish Healthy Care Network was recently established to support improvements in health standards and services for children and young people who are in care or are leaving care.