Clock ticking for care home managers’ required registration

The Scottish Government has announced that managers of care home services and managers of adult day care services must register with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) or another relevant regulatory body by 30 November 2009.

From 30 November 2009 the Scottish Government will bring in required registration for managers of care home services for adults and mangers of adult day care services.  This means they must register with the SSSC or be registered with another relevant regulatory body eg the Nursing and Midwifery Council and employers will be committing an offence if their managers are not registered.

To ensure applications are processed in time for 30 November 2009 they must be received by the SSSC by 31 May 2009.

Regulation of the social care, early years and young people’s workforce, recognises the vital jobs they do on a daily basis.  Registration with the SSSC means that managers of care home services and managers of adult day care services will be required to gain qualifications that contain both practice and management elements.  Registrants must also provide evidence of good character, agree to abide by the Code of Practice for Social Service Workers and undergo an enhanced disclosure check.

The SSSC opened the parts of the Register for managers of care home services and managers for adult day care services in January 2006.  It is estimated that 960 managers of care home services and 422 managers of adult day care services have still to apply for registration.

Manager of the Jean Drummond Day Centre, Gillian Duffy said: “I think registration is an excellent concept as it promotes accountability and evidence based practice.  Through gaining required qualifications and by continuing individual professional development, a better understanding and knowledge will promote a greater effectiveness in everything we strive to achieve in the day services sector.”

The SSSC was set up to raise standards in social services.  Their role is to increase the protection of people who use social services, to raise standards of practice and to strengthen and support the professionalism of the workforce.

To order an application pack contact the SSSC on 0845 60 30 891 or email [email protected]