Requirement for Care Home Managers to be Registered Nurses Remains

Thursday, 9th February 2006

The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI), the regulator for social care in England, has decided that the requirement that care home managers are registered nurses should continue.

As part of the National Minimum Standards, care home managers of care homes delivering nursing care are required to be registered nurses. The CSCI announced that they intended to review this requirement in June last year with the intention of removing it altogether. The RCN, however, were concerned by this proposal and, after lengthy discussions, the CSCI has agreed that the requirements of the National Minimum Standards will remain.

The current arrangement to deviate from this practice when a suitable nurse cannot be appointed is now being reviewed. The RCN and the CSCI will continue to work in partnership in developing the framework to ensure an equitable and consistent framework is implemented in the future.