YOUNG PEOPLE in care need to be treated with respect and should not be stigmatised, delegates at a Dundee conference were told yesterday.

Scotland’s regulator for care services, the Care Commission, organised the forum at Discovery Point.

Over 40 young people gathered over the weekend to discuss their experiences of living in care—and the results of that survey sent out a clear message to the Care Commission.

According to Jacquie Roberts, the commission’s chief executive, many of them said it was important that they felt they were being treated with respect, not only from carers but also from society as a whole.

“The Care Commission’s main aim is to raise standards of care by involving people who are cared for and their families and working with people who provide care,” she said.

“I believe this forum will be a milestone on the road to improving care for children and young people in Scotland’s care homes.

“For the first time we have the findings of a national review of care quality, plus the comments of youngsters themselves.

“Their message is, ‘Give us respect, give us safety and give us well qualified staff to help us overcome some of the problems we face in order to live a successful life.’ ”

Ms Roberts added, “They have a right to expect a good standard of care and when they do get good staff who treat them with respect the results are obvious.”

The forum was organised in conjunction with children’s charity Who Cares? Scotland and its assistant director Steven Paterson delivered the keynote address to the 120 delegates.

“I think the most important thing for us is that we need to keep listening to young people,” he said.

“It is something we are getting better at and the young people have given us a really clear message about the importance of them feeling safe and being supported, and of being treated with dignity and respect.

“We have to take that on board and recognise how difficult it is for young people in care. They can feel quite isolated.

“Young people who are in care get a bad press. It is not helpful for them and they are aware of it.

“What these young people are telling us is that care is improving but it is not something we can get complacent about and we must keep a firm focus on the issue to ensure we don’t become tokenistic.”

Deputy Health and Community Care Minister Rhona Brankin, who also attended the forum, said, “This forum demonstrates precisely one of the reasons that the Care Commission was set up.

“It is pleasing to me to see so many different people with an interest in care services for young people being given the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the quality of those services.

“What is particularly important is that the Care Commission is listening carefully to what is being said and building it into its practises.

“That can only be to the benefit of the people who need to be cared for.”