Health Matters

Listed below are a selection of questions we are encouraging both foster carers and fostering services to consider. This excercise has stemmed from our recent Health Matters project in Scotland which has been exploring issues relating to foster carers’ health.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us for any further support, advice or information.

Foster carers

• Does your foster carer handbook include a section on your health?
• Do you know where and how your medical information is stored, and who has access to it?
• Do you know who your fostering service's medical advisor is, and what their role is?
• Do you know what additional support is available if you or your family are struggling following a child moving on?
• Has your fostering service shared the BMA (British Medical Association) guidance for foster carers relating to Hepatitis B vaccines?
• Do you know what additional support will be offered if you or a close relative of yours is admitted to hospital, or if you face a personal bereavement?

Fostering services

• Does your foster carer handbook include a section on foster carers' health?
• How is medical information relating to foster carers stored?
• Are foster carers’ full medical reports only accessed by your medical advisor?
• Do your foster carers know who the medical advisor is, and what their role is?
• Is your medical advisor fully versed on foster carers’ tasks?
• What additional support is provided if a foster carer or their own children is struggling to cope when a child moves on?
• Have you shared the BMA guidance for foster carers relating to Hepatitis B vaccines? Are your supervising social workers familiar with the guidance?
• What additional support is available if a foster carer faces a personal bereavement, or if they or a close relative is admitted to hospital?

Further support

We would encourage open dialogue between fostering services and foster carers regarding the issues above. If you are willing to share with us your foster carer handbook relating to these issues, that would help us with the next stage of our Health Matters work.

The Fostering Network in Scotland can deliver a Health Matters training course for foster carers, social workers and panel members to enable fostering services to consider these issues. For more information on this, please contact scotland@fostering.net.

If you live in Scotland and require further information or support – whether a foster carer, social worker or panel member - please email our director, Sara Lurie, or get in touch with Fosterline Scotland by telephoning 0141 204 1400 (Monday - Friday, 10am - 4pm). If you are elsewhere in the UK please contact The Fostering Network helpline in your country.