4,000 care homes have been allowed to break the law

More than 4,000 care homes are being allowed to break the law by regulators, with no registered manager in charge of residents.

The Care Quality Commmission (CQC) has turned a blind eye to the failing, even though its chief executive has admitted that said such homes are far more likely to be putting vulnerable people at risk.

A non-executive for the regulator described the situation as “shocking,” as the organisation announced plans for a crackdown, with criminal sanctions and fines of up to £4,000 for homes which have no-one in charge.

A report to CQC said there were currently more than 3,900 care homes without a registered manager, equivalent to two per cent of all the residential homes.

Of these about a quarter had not had a registered manager for more than two years and would be the first to be targeted.
Registered managers of care homes are supposed to be held accountable for the quality of services in care homes, and be held accountable for failings.

CQC chief executive David Behan said the watchdog was now preparing to use powers of prosecution against persistent offenders, including issuing fines.

He said: "Homes without registered managers have very high levels of non-compliance [with CQC standards]. It's not acceptable to run a home without a registered manager in place and to do so will result in a sanction."

CQC non-executive director Paul Corrigan described the figures as "shocking" and questioned why the CQC had allowed the situation to go on for so long.

Mr Behan said many organisations had highlighted the difficulty recruiting nurses and other appropriately skilled staff to fill the positions.

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Laura Donnelly