What should I expect a Registered Manager to do at a care home?

Is it office based work, and how many hours would you expect the registered manager to work?

Answered by Sheila Scott

Dear Diane,

Being the Registered Manager of a care home or a Home Care Agency is a very responsible position. In most circumstances I would expect the appointment to be a full time position although with the agreement of CQC it is possible for a job share to be allowed.

Registered Managers have to be registered by the Care Quality Commission and the Manager has to be able to demonstrate to CQC their experience and expertise to carry out the role and that they have the right qualifications and knowledge too.

You can find information about CQC’s expectation here; http://www.cqc.org.uk/content/regulation-7-requirements-relating-registered-managers#guidance-links

Some of the work will of course be office based but a Registered Manager must spend a significant amount of their time with the service users and with staff because they are responsible for the day-to-day running of the service they are registered for and the health and well-being of the service users who are of course of paramount importance.

A Manager has the legal responsibility for the service and can of course be held accountable. Skills for Care suggest that amongst the skills that a new Manager will require are:

• Governance and accountability
• Team leadership and management
• Managing resources
• Equality, diversity and inclusion
• Safeguarding and protection
• Ensuring quality
• Training and development

Skills for Care also say that a registered care home manager should have:

• strong ‘people’ skills and communication skills
• good observational skills
• experience of assessing an individual’s care and support needs
• the ability to negotiate and manage a budget
• the ability to maintain accurate records
• knowledge of relevant legislation, local services and resources
• a good understanding of the medical conditions affecting service users
• the ability to build effective working relationships with residents, their families, staff and other professionals.

The job description will spell out any specific expectations for an individual service.

If you have a quality management service system such as QCS’s then will have all the supporting documents you need.

Best wishes,
Sheila