Ask Sheila 
Sheila will try to answer as many of your English Social Care questions as possible, giving priority to frequently asked questions and questions regarding current events and trends.
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.
Sheila will try to answer as many of your questions as possible, giving priority to frequently asked questions and questions regarding current events and trends.
Please note that Sheila can not offer answers to matters requiring legal advice. If your matter concerns a specific service provider, please contact the CQC.
Latest Questions
Can a carer cut a service user’s toe nails?
Hi Sheila, can carers cut a service user’s toe nails?
Dear Joanne, Thank you for your question. I think you would be surprised at how often I am asked this question and this is a response that I gave some time ago...
What formal qualifications do I need to become a CQC inspector?
Hi Sheila, I have worked in care sector since 1994. What formal qualifications do I need to become a CQC inspector?
Dear Joanne, This is the answer I gave to a similar question recently. "I cannot tell you exactly what training is required to be a CQC inspector. If you go to the CQC...
I am CQC registered, can I change from being a sole provider to employing a manager to run the service, whilst remaining a named person?
Hi Sheila, I am CQC registered, can I change from being a sole provider to employing a manager to run the service, whilst remaining a named person?
Dear Ivy, Thank you for your question. The answer is quite straightforward. You can appoint a new Registered Manager. The person that you wish to appoint has to go through the registration process...
What notifications do you have to send to CQC and the local authority?
Hi Sheila, what notifications do you have to send to CQC and KCC as soon as they happen?
Dear N, Thank you for your question. Notifications to CQC is an important part of the responsibilities of the Registered Manager. The Registered Manager does not have to complete every notification themselves...
What are the five Key Lines of Enquiry?
Hi Sheila, I’m just about to go for the deputy manager position in my care home which is a seventy nine bedder. Can you advise me on the five key lines of enquiry that I would be expected to know?
Dear J, Thank you for your question. KLOE stands for Key Lines of Enquiry. It’s important to clarify that they are 5 Key Questions (not 5 key lines of enquiry) and these...
What support is available when a hospital patient who has broken her hip is not able to return to her own home immediately because of mobility issues?
Hi Sheila, I’d like to understand what help I can get for my eighty year old mum who has recently had a fall, broken her hip and is in hospital. She already has mobility problems and will be unable to walk up two flights of stairs to her flat.
I would like to find out what support she may be entitled to whether that is care, housing etc
Dear K, Thank you for your question. Your Mother will not be discharged from hospital without a care plan. This means that someone should already be planning what will happen to your Mother...
Who should I contact to find out information about accessing care for myself?
Hi Sheila, who can I contact to find out more information about accessing care for myself? I have been given a social practitioner who doesn’t seem to be helping me with my situation, I am in a wheelchair and cannot use my left side.
Dear M, Thank you for your email. I believe that a social work practitioner works in a Social Work Team and it is disappointing that you are not receiving the help you...
How do I advertise my service?
Hi Sheila, I am a new care provider with 18 years experience in care (different sectors; residential care, nursing, hospital, community domiciliary,supported living with people with disability, end of life care, enablement care for people recovering after hospital admission). I have management experience with experience in recruitment and have care and support workers available for work. How do I advertise my service?
Dear H, Thank you for your question. The marketing of a new business is very important. Hopefully once your business is known you will never look back. Are you registered with CQC? Do you...
What is a respectable time to get a resident up, washed and dressed in the mornings?
Hi Sheila, what is a respectable time to get a resident up, washed and dressed in the mornings?
Dear C, Thank you for your question. All care should be provided with a person centred approach. The time that service users rise should be based on their wishes. If it is not so...
What financial support is available for equipment and any necessary adaptations that need to be made to a person’s home when they have had a stroke?
Hi Sheila, my wife will be discharged from hospital shortly, we need financial support to get her battery operated wheelchair and to update our ground floor toilet. She is recovering from stroke which has left her with severe right sided weakness. She had the stroke in 2012 but was very ill in January 2019 had to be admitted to hospital due to bleed in her brain which further restricted movement. She is presently in hospital for rehabilitation. Is there anywhere we can get grants or support for this?
Dear J, Thank you for your question. If your wife needs a battery operated wheelchair then I would expect the NHS to supply it for her before she is discharged from hospital. With...Partners with the UK's smartest companies
