Can a person be a nominated individual for several care homes ?

Sheila Scott
Answered by Sheila Scott

 

Dear S,

 

Thank you for your question.

 

The simple answer to it is yes, but of course, life in adult social care is never simple.

 

The responsibilities of the nominated individual are clear in my opinion and the person should visit the care home at least once a month (more if there are concerns).

 

In their frequently asked questions about registration, this is what the CQC says about Nominated Individuals:

 

5. What is a Nominated Individual?  If you apply for registration as an organisation, you are required to nominate an individual to act as the main point of contact with the CQC. A Nominated Individual has responsibility for supervising the way that the regulated activity is managed. They should be an employed director, manager or secretary of the organisation. It is up to you who to nominate, as long as they meet these criteria. Nominated Individuals do not hold legal responsibility.

 

You can nominate one individual to cover all or several of the regulated activities you provide, or different individuals for each regulated activity.

 

You do not need a Nominated Individual if you register as an individual or a partnership. However, you can decide to have a Nominated Individual if you are an individual or partnership if you wish.

 

https://www.lmc.org.uk/visageimages/guidance/2012/FINAL%20Care%20Quality%20Commission%20Registration%20FAQs%20July%202012%20(2).pdf

 

This is CQC’s guidance about Nominated Individuals:

 

Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014: Regulation 6

 

The intention of this regulation is to ensure that the provider is represented by an appropriate person nominated by the organisation to carry out this role on their behalf (nominated individual). The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the regulated activity provided.

 

This is because providers who comply with this regulation will have appointed as a nominated individual a director, manager or secretary who:

 

  • Is of good character
  • Is able to properly perform tasks that are intrinsic to their role
  • Has the necessary qualifications, competence, skills and experience to supervise the management of the regulated activity
  • Has supplied them with documents that confirm their suitability

 

CQC cannot prosecute for a breach of this regulation or any of its parts but we can take regulatory action. See the offences section for more detail.

 

CQC must refuse registration if providers cannot satisfy us that they can and will continue to comply with this regulation.

 

https://www.cqc.org.uk/guidance-providers/regulations-enforcement/regulation-6-requirement-where-service-provider-body#guidance

 

I think that the Care Quality Commission might ask an applicant to demonstrate how the person would be able to carry out their responsibilities if a person applied to be the nominated individual for what was perceived to be too many services but I think a different view might be taken if the applications were for several services within the same organisation.

 

It is important for nominated individuals to remember that the role may not seem to be onerous but they have an important role to play in supervising the management of the organisation and they must undertake some regular auditing to make sure that responsibilities are being met.

 

I have seen criticism in CQC inspection reports where the activity of the nominated individual has not been properly recorded.

 

I hope this is helpful.

 

Best wishes,

 

Sheila

 

 

 

About Sheila Scott

Sheila Scott OBE from National Care Association (NCA). Care is Sheila’s life; she possesses a strong command of the issues facing the care sector informed by her long career as a nursing professional, the owner and manager of a care business and as a leader in the care sector. 3. Read more

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