CQC Nominated Individual Duties, Roles and Responsibilities
A nominated individual is required to be in place to meet regulation 6. They are usually a director of the organisation and will hold a higher position than the registered manager. They should be empowered to make decisons on behalf of the organisation.
Nominated individuals should ensure that the registered manager has undergone all safer recruitment. They are responsible for ensuring the registered manager is well supported, including having opportunities for supervision. All management personal should be supervised. If the nominated individual is going to be conducting the supervision themselves, they should be prepared to demonstrate their experience in management, leadership, and care. If they do not have a care background, they should consider accessing other opportunities for the manager externally.
It is also possible for one of our consultants here at Caretips to supervise the manager. The registered manager can be in attendance in order to gain an insight into care matters. This will be a good foundation for the nominated individual to eventually carry out this task independently in the future.
The role of a nominated individual within the context of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is crucial in ensuring the delivery of high-quality care and services.
The CQC nominated individual plays a pivotal role in overseeing and taking responsibility for the quality of care provided by the care provider including strategic decisions.
They act as a first point of contact between the CQC and the care provider, serving as an advocate for individuals, service users, and their families. Their primary objective is to ensure that all aspects of care meet regulatory requirements.
A CQC nominated individual requires strong leadership skills coupled with extensive knowledge of regulatory requirements in care settings. Their dedication to upholding high standards ensures that individuals receive safe, effective, compassionate care at all times.
There might be a requirement for the nominated individual to demonstrate their green credentials by having an effective environmental policy. They need to ensure that staff are well trained to be able to carry out their duties safely and effectively.
Nominated individuals should be able to put systems in place to ensure the organisation is compliant with various regulations and laws such as safe recruitment, information management, equality, food safety, health and safety. All CQC fundamental standards should be met by their organisation including ensuring that all communications are in a format that meet needs (information accessible standard). There should be systems to deal with complaints, gather feedback and learn from mistakes.
CQC nominated individuals are expected to keep abreast of changes in legislation, regulations, and best practices within the care industry. This includes staying up-to-date with developments in areas such as safeguarding, infection control, staff training, and safety. By doing so, they can effectively implement necessary changes within their organisation as part of maintaining compliance with CQC standards.
The CQC nominated individual acts as a leader within their organisation by promoting a culture of continuous improvement. The nominated individual is expected to have an oversight of the whole organisation. They will be expected to be develop and implement policies that will define the s operations including the delivery of care. This involves conducting regular audits, inspections, and assessments to identify areas for improvement and take appropriate action.
The CQC nominated individual facilitates effective communication channels to ensure that any concerns or issues raised by individuals, families, employees, professionals and others are addressed promptly. By fostering an open dialogue between all stakeholders involved in delivering care services, they contribute towards creating an environment that promotes transparency and accountability.
If you are applying for a number of regulated services you can have several nominated individuals. The CQC will expect all nominated individuals to be declared during the provider registration.
Nominated Individuals are subject to the requirement of being fit and proper persons. They should undergo all necessary checks as part of safer recruitment, which may include background checks, reference checks, and other relevant checks to ensure their suitability for the role.
The CQC will require the date of birth and contact details (email and telephone number). They will also expect the nominated individual to have had a DBS dated within 12 months. This does not need to be countersigned by the CQC.
Nominated individuals are normally interviewed first by the CQC. Nominated individuals play a vital role mainly regarding the business side of the organisation. They should be able to articulate the business model and provide answers to the following:
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What is your business about?
Awareness of the services you want to offer including service user bands is necessary
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Who is accountable for safety and how?
You should be able to explain your managment structure and chains of command.
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Is the busines going to be targeting social care contracts, dual funded, private, or all?
You can refer to your market research and business plan
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Explanation of values and culture of the organisation?
What has motivated you to start your care busines?
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Explanation of business continuity procedures in place.
This demonstrates good governance
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Addressing issues where there is Conflict of Interest
Be prepared to answer this if senior management members are related
As a new provider it is better to focus on private individuals as contracts are not always easy to secure without a credible track record. The explanations of the nominated individual should be plausible and demonstrate the work and activities conducted as part of market research. Remember, it is compulsory to demonstrate the market research you have done as part of the business plan.
It will be good for the nominated individual to have a good insight into some challenges facing care, such as shortages of staff, the cost of living, and working with international care workers (if applicable).
Nominated individuals should know about budgets and strategic operations. For example, how many hours will be needed to meet the revenue forecast. They need to have an idea of the local market, including going rates. If the organisation is going to be catering for specialist areas such as learning disability and autism there should be evidence of working with local commissioners.
