According to a report submitted to the Care Quality Commission (CQC), around 4,000 care homes in the UK are breaking the law by not having anyone officially in charge.
Each care home is required by law to have a registered manager, someone who has had all the right care training and has the skills and experience to run a care home for elderly, ill or vulnerable people responsibly. However, new research has found that 3,900 UK care homes don’t have a registered manager, which is the equivalent of 2 per cent of all care homes in the country.
Of these 3,900, it has been revealed that around a quarter have not had anyone officially in charge for more than two years. One reason for these serious failings, according to care organisations, is that providers struggle to find people with the right skills and care training to fill managerial positions.
In response to the report, the CQC has now said that it will prosecute and fine care homes that consistently fail to have anyone in charge. Chief executive David Behan said:
“Homes without registered managers have very high levels of non-compliance [with CQC standards]. It’s not acceptable to run a home without a registered manager in place and to do so will result in a sanction.”