§ Ms. HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what responsibility residential care home owners and members of staff have to disclose any criminal record to the registration authority when applying to be registered under the Registered Homes Act 1984.
§ Mrs. Virginia Bottomley[holding answer 17 June 1991]: Local authorities should ask applicants for registration in respect of residential care homes to declare any convictions they may have incurred. They should check with the police for the existence and content of any criminal record an applicant may have.
§ Ms. HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether people who are found unfit to run a residential care home or nursing home are automatically barred from running another home.
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§ Mrs. Virginia Bottomley[holding answer 17 June 1991]: The names of people found unfit to run a residential care or nursing home are recorded on a national list of cancelled or refused registrations maintained by the Department since 1985. The list is available to local authorities.
§ Ms. HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if there are formal complaints procedures for people in homes registered under the Registered Homes Act 1984;
(2) if all residents of homes registered under the Registered Homes Act 1984 are given information about how to make a complaint.
§ Mrs. Virginia Bottomley[holding answer 17 June 1991]: The proprietors of residential care homes are required by regulation made under the Registered Homes Act 1984 to advise residents in writing as to how to make a complaint and to whom complaints should be addressed. The name and address of the registration authority must also be given for the same purpose.
In addition, the complaints procedures introduced in social services departments from 1 April 1991 provide for complaints made to registration authorities by or on behalf of residents to be dealt with under the terms of those procedures.
§ Ms. HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether nursing procedures in homes registered under the Registered Homes Act 1984 are carried out by care assistants.
§ Mrs. Virginia Bottomley[holding answer 17 June 1991]: Residential care homes are served by the community nursing service who are responsible for carrying out any nursing procedures that the residents health care requires. Residential care home staff may carry out any nursing tasks specifically delegated to them by the community nurse. Nursing homes are required to have a qualified nurse on duty at all times; care assistants may carry out nursing tasks under their supervision.
§ Ms. HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if there are national guidelines on standards in homes registered under the Registered Homes Act 1984 in relation to accommodation requirements, staffing levels and staff qualifications.
§ Mrs. Virginia Bottomley[holding answer 17 June 1991]: Regulations made under the Registered Homes Act 1984 require that all homes should provide adequate suitably qualified staff and reasonable accommodation in relation to the needs of residents. Registration may be refused under the Act where these requirements are not met.
The Act is supplemented by "Home Life: a code of practice for residential care", by the social services inspectorate publications in the "Caring for Quality" series, and by the National Association of Health Authorities and Trusts' handbook on registration and inspection, copies of which are available in the Library.