Health and Social Care · Awarded by OTHM
Level 7 Diploma in Health and Social Care Management
For clinicians and care managers who now run a service and want to lead it with the same rigour they brought to practice.
- LevelRQF Level 7Same level as a master's
- Credits120six units
- Qualification time1,200 hours600 guided learning hours
- Awarding bodyOTHMRegulated by Ofqual
- Ofqual number603/6066/5Search the Ofqual register
- Duration9 months (standard) or 6 months (fast track)Set by LSPM, confirmed on enquiry
- Study modesonline or blendedLive seminars, evenings and Saturdays
- FeesFrom £999 (9 months, standard) or £1,299 (6 months, fast track)Written quotation on enquiry
- Next intakeRolling intake — course starts when the fee is paidSet by LSPM
- AssessmentAssignmentsNo examinations
Who it is for
Practitioners who have become managers
Six units, each of 20 credits, describe what running a health or social care service actually involves: Health and Social Care Leadership, Managing People in Health and Social Care, Managing Finance in Health and Social Care, Health and Social Care Strategies and Policies, Leading Change in Health and Social Care and Research Methods for Healthcare Professionals.
It suits nurses, allied health professionals and social workers who have moved into service management, registered managers of care homes and domiciliary services, and commissioning or policy officers who want the management education their professional training did not include.
It is not a clinical qualification and does not touch your professional registration, which continues to be governed by your regulator. It is a management diploma at master's level, set in the context of care.
Structure
Six units, all mandatory
All six units are mandatory and are taken in a sequence LSPM sets. Unit titles and credit values are from the awarding body's specification.
Mandatory units All six required
| Unit | Credits |
|---|---|
| Health and Social Care Leadership | 20 |
| Managing People in Health and Social Care | 20 |
| Managing Finance in Health and Social Care | 20 |
| Health and Social Care Strategies and Policies | 20 |
| Leading Change in Health and Social Care | 20 |
| Research Methods for Healthcare Professionals | 20 |
| 120 credits from mandatory units. | |
Unit titles and credit values: OTHM Level 7 Diploma in Health and Social Care Management (OTHM), official specification, Ofqual 603/6066/5.
How LSPM sequences them
Health and Social Care Leadership opens the programme. Managing People and Managing Finance follow, because those are the two areas practitioners most often tell us they were promoted into without preparation. Health and Social Care Strategies and Policies gives the system context. Leading Change comes late, once the earlier units have provided what a change needs to draw on. Research Methods for Healthcare Professionals is delivered alongside the final two units.
Entry requirements
Who can enrol
OTHM sets the entry requirements and London School of Planning and Management, the approved centre, applies them. As published in the specification:
- An honours degree in related subject or UK level 6 diploma or an equivalent overseas qualification
- Mature learners with management experience (learners must check with the delivery centre regarding this experience prior to registering for the programme)
- Learner must be 21 years old or older at the beginning of the course
- English requirements: If a learner is not from a majority English-speaking country must provide evidence of English language competency. For more information visit English Language Expectations page in our website www.othm.org.uk.
How LSPM applies this in practice. Most applicants hold a professional registration and a degree or equivalent. Registered managers and experienced care leads without a degree are considered on the basis of their role, their regulatory record and a conversation with an LSPM tutor. If you work in a regulated setting, LSPM will ask about your service's inspection status, not to judge but to understand your context.
Entry requirements from the official specification. If you are not sure whether your qualification counts as equivalent, send us the details and we will ask LSPM to check with the awarding body.
Assessment
Written assignments, no examinations
Assignments are the documents a service manager produces: a leadership review of a service, a workforce plan, a budget analysis and business case, a policy analysis and a change proposal. The research unit asks for a small study or research proposal on a question from your practice setting. No examinations.
Your tutor at LSPM marks the work and gives written feedback. OTHM then externally verifies a sample of marked work to confirm the standard is being applied consistently. A unit is passed when all of its criteria are met.
Progression
From diploma to top-up with advanced standing
An MSc in Health and Social Care Management or Healthcare Leadership is where holders most often go next, and a university may credit the diploma against its taught stage so that you join at the dissertation. That is the university's call; neither LSPM nor this site can guarantee admission.
Within the sector the diploma most often supports a move from team or ward leadership to service, locality or directorate management, or from a registered manager role to a regional or operations director post.
Progression note for employers. If you are sponsoring a manager with a master's as the eventual goal, budget the top-up separately and check the university's terms before you commit. The diploma stage is where LSPM's fees and timetable apply; the top-up stage is the university's. How the pathway works.
Outcomes
What you will be able to do
- Lead a care serviceChoose and justify a leadership approach for a health or social care setting and evaluate its effect.
- Manage a care workforcePlan, develop and support staff in a regulated environment with recruitment and retention pressures.
- Manage the moneyRead and build a service budget, and make a business case that a finance team will accept.
- Work within policyAnalyse the policy and strategic environment and position a service within it.
- Lead changePlan and lead a service change with attention to staff, service users and regulators.
- Research in practiceDesign a piece of research or evaluation on a question from your own setting.
Fit
Likely to suit, and better served elsewhere
Likely to get a lot from it
- Nurses, allied health professionals and social workers now in service management.
- Registered managers of care homes and domiciliary services.
- Commissioning and policy officers who want the management education their training omitted.
Better served by something else
- Anyone seeking a clinical or registrable qualification; this does not affect registration.
- Care workers and senior carers not yet in management; a Level 5 leadership diploma first.
- Learners whose interest is mental health practice specifically; the Relational Practice diploma may fit better.
Real learner quotation to be supplied. This slot must not be published until a named graduate has given written consent.
Programme questions
Frequently asked
Does this count towards my professional revalidation or CPD?
That depends on your regulator's rules for what counts, and you should check them. The diploma is a substantial piece of postgraduate-level learning and many learners record it as such; this site does not speak for any regulator.
Is the finance unit hard for a clinician?
It is the unit clinicians worry about most and, from what learners report back to us, the one they get the most from. It assumes no accounting background. It teaches you to read a service budget, build a business case and hold your own with a finance team.
Can I do it while running a service?
Most of the learners we have advised do. Plan for around twelve hours a week over two years, or more over one; the hours table on the home page sets out the arithmetic. LSPM confirms seminar times for each intake.
How does it differ from the Qualifi Health and Social Care diploma?
Same level and credits, different awarding body and unit list. The OTHM programme has a dedicated finance unit and a change unit; compare the two tables and tell us about your role.
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