Your rota is full. Can people still get the care they need?

A full rota can look reassuring. Every shift has names against it. The dependency assessment has been completed.

The planned hours are covered.

But that still leaves a question: can the team meet people’s needs when several people need help at once?

That is where a staffing review needs to spend its time. A daily total cannot show whether support is available at

the moments it matters.

Consider a typical pressure point in a care home. Two staff are helping someone transfer safely. Another person

needs support with their meal. Someone else needs the toilet, and a call bell sounds further down the corridor.

These are ordinary care needs. The staffing arrangement has to work when they overlap.

The question is not simply how many staff are on duty. It is who is available, what skills they have and what

happens to the rest of the home when they are occupied.

Look at the busiest part of the shift

I would start by comparing the rota with a period when demand is high. Watch how care is delivered, listen to

staff and speak with the people receiving support. Check the relevant records alongside what you see.

Are people waiting for assistance? Is someone’s meal going cold while staff support another person? Can two

staff work together without leaving other people without the support they need? What happens during breaks,

handover or an unexpected event?

Different answers point to different problems. There may be too few staff. The deployment may be wrong. The

skill mix may not match the work. A senior member of staff may be counted as available for direct care while also

carrying responsibilities that regularly take them away from it.

Adding hours without understanding the problem can leave the same gap in place. Equally, reorganising the shift

cannot compensate for an establishment that is genuinely insufficient.

Use dependency information properly

A dependency tool can help structure a staffing decision. Its value depends on whether it reflects current needs

and whether those needs can actually be met within the working arrangements.

A change in mobility, eating, distress or supervision needs can alter the demand on a team. Two people with the

same overall dependency band may need very different support at very different times. That detail matters.

For CQC-regulated services in England, Regulation 18 requires sufficient staff with the appropriate competence

and experience. CQC’s guidance also expects staffing levels and skill mix to be reviewed as people’s needs and

circumstances change.

Make the decision visible

A useful staffing review should explain the needs identified, the periods of pressure, the proposed numbers and

skill mix, and how breaks and unexpected demands will be covered. It should also say how the provider will check

whether the arrangement is working.

Choose a busy period this week and test the staffing plan against it. A full rota is a starting point. The evidence

that matters is whether people receive the support they need, safely and without avoidable delay.

If your staffing figures and the reality of the shift are telling different stories, contact me at mariana@mareric.co.uk to discuss an independent review.