Ask Sheila - Archive 
Sheila Scott OBE has now retired and therefore is no longer available to answer your social care questions. However, you might still find the answer you’ve been searching for down below.
Occupational therapist opening home
Can an Occupational Therapist open a care home ?
Dear Debbie,
There are a number of steps that need to be gone through to become a Registered Care Home Provider.
To operate a care home you have to be registered by the Care Quality Commission.
Your first point of call therefore should be to read their guidance about registration which you can find on these 2 web pages:
http://www.cqc.org.uk/content/what-registration
http://www.cqc.org.uk/content/apply-new-provider
If you also wanted to be the Registered Manager then you should also look at http://www.cqc.org.uk/content/apply-new-registered-manager
These pages set out the requirements needed for registration.
I am certain that your experience as an Occupational Therapist would be an important consideration in registering you as a provider.
Whether it would also fill the criteria for becoming a Registered Manager is less clear, so if you want to become the Registered Manager too you should look at the experience, knowledge and qualifications required and try to cross reference where you meet the criteria and look to fill the gaps.
Best wishes.
Sheila
*All information is correct at the time of publishing.
About Sheila
Sheila Scott OBE has now retired and over the years , prior to her retirement she has answered thousands of your social questions. You can still access the many questions below.
For 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.
Please do get in touch with our team of specialists if you can’t see an answer to the question you may have and we will be happy to help.
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