Welsh study of adult care home managers published
By News Wales, , ,

Findings have been published from a study of the recruitment and retention of adult care home managers in Wales.

The study, commissioned jointly by the Care Council for Wales (CCW) and the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW), sought to improve understanding of factors influencing the recruitment and retention of managers of care homes for older adults, with and without nursing provision, across all sectors. It was commissioned in response to anecdotal concerns about difficulties in recruiting care home managers.

The main findings will now be used by the CCW to inform its work to create a framework that will support the development of social care managers in Wales.

Gerry Evans, CCW Director of Regulation and Professional Standards, said: “This information will be very valuable in helping us shape a framework that will develop enough professional managers who can provide quality services through quality leadership. With the forecasted increases in older people over the next 20 years or so, the recruitment and retention of high-calibre adult care home managers is a critical factor in providing the level of services that will be needed.

“This report has been sent to the Care Home Task Group, set up by the Minister for Health and Social Services, so as to inform its work programme. The report is also timely, given the publication of the Older People’s Commissioner’s report on the quality of life of care home residents and the forthcoming independent report on Operation Jasmine,” he added.

According to the study, factors influencing the recruitment and retention of adult care home managers included:

  • The size of care homes and the complexity of residents’ needs, which can mean managers’ current roles being quite different to the ones they were initially trained to do.
  • The lack of a common set of data for the social care workforce, including figures on recruitment, retention and turnover.
  • Significant differences between the roles and responsibilities of adult care home managers, as well as their pay and other terms and conditions.
  • The requirement for prospective managers to obtain the level 5 qualification before they can register with the CCW and CSSIW.
  • The balance between regulation, inspection and monitoring processes, and work to support and develop the workforce and the services provided.
  • Negative publicity for care homes.
  • Wide variations in the type and quality of support received by registered managers from employers and senior managers.

The full report and summary of key findings are below: