Guidance for providers on the registration of dispersed services

This guidance is intended to explain what a dispersed service is and to assist in determining the extent to which a single care service can be dispersed.

The Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 (The Act) and associated Regulations inform the context and purpose of this policy and guidance. The Scottish Regulators’ Strategic Code of Practice has been taken into account during the development of this policy.

A dispersed service describes the situation where a manager is responsible for a single care service that operates from or at more than one location or by more than one team (a team is a group of staff under the supervision of a line manager). These form the parts of the service).

This guidance applies to housing support services, support services, nurse agencies, childcare agencies and some premises-based services such as care homes, daycare services and daycare of children. The care service has a single registration and the whole service is subject to inspection.

It is the applicant’s responsibility to provide evidence that it is a dispersed service. Registration as a single service is at the discretion of the Care Inspectorate.