Sustaining adult care home manager numbers in Wales could prove problematic
By News Wales, , , ,

Sustaining the number of registered adult care home managers in Wales could become a further issue in the long-term due to a combination of factors, the most recent profile report on the profession has shown.

The 2015 profile report of adult care home managers in Wales is now available on the Care Council for Wales website, and has been compiled to build up a clear and accurate picture of the sector using registrant data we hold on our registrants.

The online profile report – the fourth of its kind to be published since adult care home managers joined the Register in 2011 –  is designed to be dynamic and offers easy access to the key facts and summary.

More in-depth analysis is also made available by selecting individual questions.

The report shows that, overall, the current register of adult care home managers is stable, despite a slight decrease in the numbers registered.

But the combination of a number of factors could further affect this stability in the longer term.

Gerry Evans, Director of Standards and Regulation, said: “Evidence showed a significant movement of managers between services last year as well as an increase in the number of managers both leaving and joining the sector.

“There continues to be only a very small pool of deputies and other qualified registrants to step into manager roles that become vacant.

“In addition, there were fewer new managers who qualified for the role than there were managers leaving the role.

“Combined with the average age having also increased, the trends suggest there could be succession and sustainability issues in the future.”

He added: “The role of adult care home manager is recognised as a very challenging one, due to the increasing complexity of the health and support needs of those living in adult care homes.

“However, the Care Council work programme, drawing on evidence which includes the profile, focuses on induction, qualifications, and continuing development of social care managers as registered professionals.”

Regulation officers have been working closely with Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) to consider the data, which is being used to inform the Care Home Steering Group established by the Minister for Health and Social Services.