The DASS Guide: The role of nurses in adult social care

Nurses in adult social care make a significant—often under-recognised—contribution to supporting people with complex health and care needs. As DASS, you have a leadership role in ensuring that nursing is valued, visible, and integrated within your local care system.

Social care nurses work across a wide range of settings: care homes, reablement services, supported living, end-of-life care, and in people’s own homes. They include registered nurses (adult, mental health, and learning disability), advanced nurse practitioners, and community nurses aligned to social care teams.

Nursing in social care is not the same as nursing in the NHS. It requires:

– A deep understanding of long-term conditions, frailty, dementia and palliative care.
– Autonomy and leadership in decision-making, often in isolated settings.
– Relational practice with residents, families and multidisciplinary teams.
– A values-based approach to dignity, rights and personhood.

As DASS, your responsibilities include:

– Recognising nurses as part of the social care workforce and supporting their professional development.
– Working with care providers to ensure good clinical governance and safe delegation of tasks.
– Collaborating with ICS partners to ensure nurses in care settings are part of local workforce planning and training.
– Promoting nursing voice and leadership in integrated teams, commissioning and service improvement.

Nurse recruitment and retention in social care is a known challenge. Pay disparities, training access, and status gaps between NHS and care settings can undermine stability. You have a leadership role in tackling these issues and championing parity of esteem.

The Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care at national level provides strategic leadership, and your local system should connect to national priorities—such as digital skills, medicines safety, and quality improvement.

Nurses bring clinical insight, compassion and continuity. They are vital to supporting safe, high-quality and person-centred care in an ageing society.

Support them. Develop them. And include them in the future of care.

More resources:

Partners in Care and Health (2025) – Workforce planning in a place  https://www.local.gov.uk/publications/briefing-workforce-planning-place

Skills for Care (2024) The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England https://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/Adult-Social-Care-Workforce-Data/Workforce-intelligence/publications/national-information/The-state-of-the-adult-social-care-sector-and-workforce-in-England.aspx

Skills for Care (2025) A Workforce Strategy for Adult Social Care https://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/Workforce-Strategy/Supporting-resources/Supporting-resources.aspx#:~:text=A%20Workforce%20Strategy%20for%20Adult%20Social%20Care%20in%20England

Department of Health and Social Care (2019) Principal social workers in adult services: roles and responsibilities https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/principal-social-workers-in-adult-services-roles-and-responsibilities

Department of Health and Social Care (2025) Adult social care (ASC) workforce and work-related quality of life, guidance https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adult-social-care-asc-workforce-and-work-related-quality-of-life

Care Quality Commission (2022) Nursing in Adult Social Care https://www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/2022-12/20221202%20CQC%20Nursing%20Brief%20Guide%20guidance%20External%20Version%20V0%2001%20%28003%29.odt

LGA (2025) Social Work and Occupational Therapy health check survey  https://www.local.gov.uk/our-support/workforce-and-hr-support/social-workers/employer-standards-health-check

Royal College of Occupational Therapists (2021) Principal Occupational Therapists in adult social care services in England https://www.rcot.co.uk/explore-resources/social-care/principal-ots-adult-social-care-services

Partners in Care and Health (2025) The Care Act 2014 and occupational therapy: a handy summary https://www.local.gov.uk/publications/care-act-2014-and-occupational-therapy-handy-summary

Mitchell et al (2019) Social Work, Cats and Rocket Science :Stories of Making a Difference in Social Work with Adults, Jessica Kingsley Publishers