Rank: Forum user 
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Hi,
This question is more out of interest than my personal work related one.
My wife started working in a private residential care home around 8-9 months ago.
She chose the job as a career change as she is a genuine caring person.
Although she had no experience or certifications in this field other than looking after her father when he became ill before he passed the care home employed her and offered her the training needed. She has now passed a lot of exams and gained certification in a number of related subjects. 90% of the residents have dementia along with stroke and other mobility problems so the job requires very hands on personal care including toilet and bathing.
My wife absolutely loves the job, but finds it very frustrating when there always seems to be very few staff available to offer complete care? An average day would be 5 members of staff to 33 residents, which seems fine on paper but when you have 2 staff on medication throughout the shift and 1 doing showering this then only leaves 2 to care for the rest of the residents. The 2 members of staff are then left to help wash, dress, feed, toilet, offer emotional support, entertain and do the paperwork required etc. Including end of life!
The care home has just passed a CQC check and received 95% so the job is getting done in their eyes, but my wife has concerns that there isn’t enough staff to offer the level of care required? So my question: Is there a legal staff to resident ratio in the UK?
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Rank: Forum user
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Hi,
Unfortunately the CQC stopped recommending or producing guidance on staffing levels sometime ago and now leave it to the provider to determine via risk assessment / care plan or risk management plan, which ever you choose to call it. So, in answer, there is no legally defined level of staffing required to how many should be engaged - there just has to be enough to provide the correct level of care in relative safety from the CQC's perspective, following their inspection, but should something go wrong the provider will have to demonstrate that their RA is sufficient, hope this helps.
Pete,
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Rank: Forum user
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Hi, Thanks for the reply Pete. I thought that would be the case as I couldn't find anything on Google. Its one of them cases where the home know the CQC are coming so everything is in place at the time, then everyone struggles again when they have gone?
Thanks again Andy
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