Part 5

Social care and social work: scrutiny and improvement
Chapter 3

Care services

Regulations under section 78: visits to and by adult care home residents

Identification of Essential Care Supporter
78B
1
The Scottish Ministers must exercise the power under section 78(2) to impose a duty on providers of care home services for adults to—
a
identify for every resident of accommodation provided by the care home service at least one individual as an Essential Care Supporter, unless—
i
doing so would be contrary to the resident’s wishes, or
ii
nobody can be identified who is able and willing to be the resident’s Essential Care Supporter, and
b
maintain a record of the Essential Care Supporters identified.
2
The Scottish Ministers must set out in regulations under section 78(2)—
a
the criteria to be applied in determining who a resident’s Essential Care Supporter is, and
b
the consultative process with the resident and others by which that determination is to be made.
3
The duty described by subsection (1) must be framed so that a provider of a care home service must have regard to the code published under section 78E in carrying out the duty.
Ss. 78B-78G and cross-heading inserted (7.1.2026 for specified purposes) by Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 (asp 9), ss. 14(2), 39(2); S.S.I. 2025/388, reg. 2(1)(2), sch. Pt. 1