Nominated Individual Services for CQC Registered Providers

What the role involves

Under regulation 6 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, a registered provider that is an organisation, rather than an individual or a partnership, must give CQC the name of a nominated individual. That person must be employed as a director, manager or secretary of the organisation and be responsible for supervising the management of the regulated activity.

The provider must also take reasonable steps to make sure the nominated individual is of good character and has the qualifications, competence, skills and experience to supervise the management of the service properly. It is a role with real accountability, and it deserves real time.

Who this is for

"Our nominated individual role is unclear, stretched thin, or held by someone without the time to do it properly." In many organisations the role sits with a busy director alongside everything else, or with someone who was never told what it involves. Meanwhile registered managers can feel they carry the weight of compliance on their own.

This service suits providers who want an experienced person in the role, nominated individuals who want guidance and a sounding board, and boards who want to understand what good oversight looks like.

Two ways I can help

Acting as your nominated individual

Where it suits your organisation and the regulations allow, I can take on the role myself. We would agree the arrangement carefully at the start, because the nominated individual has to be employed by the provider as a director, manager or secretary and has to be properly placed to supervise the management of the service.

Supporting your existing nominated individual

If someone in your organisation already holds the role, I can work alongside them: helping them understand their responsibilities, setting up the information they need to oversee the service, and acting as an experienced sounding board when difficult decisions come up.

What the oversight covers

Whichever route you choose, the work focuses on:

• regulatory liaison and communication with CQC
• oversight of regulatory compliance across your services
• quality and safety monitoring, using information that tells you something
• inspection preparation and support
• guidance on legal accountability, for the nominated individual and the board

Governance that reaches the right people

Good oversight depends on the right information reaching the right person at the right time. Regulation 17 expects providers to operate effective systems to assess, monitor and improve quality and safety. A nominated individual who receives clear, honest reports from managers, and who visits and listens, is in a far better position to meet that expectation than one who sees a summary once a quarter.

Why this matters to me

I am a current Nominated Individual and a former Registered Manager, so I understand the role from both sides of the conversation. I know what a manager needs from the person above them, and what that person needs to hear in return.