Is employing an Activity Coordinator a CQC requirement? | QCS

Hello Sheila,

My name is Agnieszka. I am currently in the care sector as deputy leader. In order to comply with CQC regulations, do we need to employ an activity coordinator? We are a residential and EMI care home, 32 residents. We do not use key workers at present.
Thank you for your advice in this matter.
Regards

Sheila Scott
Answered by Sheila Scott

Dear Agnieszka,

It is the responsibility of the Registered Manager to assess the needs of the service users and to provide the appropriate staff to meet their needs. Those needs might include the services of an activities coordinator.

You need to be able to evidence your assessment of the needs in writing.

You can find information about staffing on the CQC website here:

http://www.cqc.org.uk/content/regulation-18-staffing#guidance

You will see that it says:

Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014: Regulation 18

The intention of this regulation is to make sure that providers deploy enough suitably qualified, competent and experienced staff to enable them to meet all other regulatory requirements described in this part of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. To meet the regulation, providers must provide sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced staff to meet the needs of the people using the service at all times and the other regulatory requirements set out in this part of the above regulations. Staff must receive the support, training, professional development, supervision and appraisals that are necessary for them to carry out their role and responsibilities. They should be supported to obtain further qualifications and provide evidence, where required, to the appropriate regulator to show that they meet the professional standards needed to continue to practise.

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

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

Regulation 18 states:

1.Sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced persons must be deployed in order to meet the requirements of this Part.

2.Persons employed by the service provider in the provision of a regulated activity must:

  • Receive such appropriate support, training, professional development, supervision and appraisal as is necessary to enable them to carry out the duties they are employed to perform;
  • Be enabled where appropriate to obtain further qualifications appropriate to the work they perform, and;
  • Where such persons are health care professionals, social workers or other professionals registered with a health care or social care regulator, be enabled to provide evidence to the regulator in question demonstrating, where it is possible to do so, that they continue to meet the professional standards which are a condition of their ability to practise or a requirement of their role.

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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