Since the beginning of the pandemic we have seen considerably more people looking to become part of the health and social care sector; some wanting to join the workforce and others looking to open businesses.
Assisting new entrants into the health and social care sector is something we have always undertaken and so we are well placed to assist.
The services we offer can often start whilst the concept is embryonic or when the first service is ready for registration. We are pleased to say with our assistance our clients have made a great success of building a group of care homes.
When working with a new entrant we hold a detailed meeting with the key people within the organisation and by mixing many strands of our services together in one package produce a proposal to meet their specific needs. We also make recommendations and provide business modelling and projections to assist them make the right choices.
Once our project brief is agreed we write a comprehensive action plan with roles, responsibilities and timeframes to ensure we are all working to the same goals. This along with any other documentation is stored on a shared server allowing complete transparency for our client.
A short case study gives an example of the intensive support we have offered which assisted a new entrant to achieve provider status and operate their first home. This provider is now proud of the three homes they now operate as one group in a very short space of time.
Our client had already purchased a care home, rated by CQC as inadequate and in a poor state of repair. They were reliant upon the existing provider to maintain the operation and registration until they could become registered as a provider and buy the business as well as the property. Before we were involved, their registration was declined and the future looked bleak given that they now owned a building with a sitting tenant, who did not wish to continue and wanted to exit the industry.
We were able to assist by providing support with an improvement programme, from a care and support perspective and from a building up grade perspective. We completed and achieved registration working in partnership with the owner. This included completing the TUPE of staff and transfer of local authority contracts when the business transferred.
The story did not end at that point, as for the care home to succeed we needed to manage the reputation of the service, increase occupancy whilst ensuring the safety of the residents and improving standards of care.
In this case we worked with the new provider, the local authority and the commission to bring about rapid change, our team had a 5 – 7-day presence at the home on occasions increasing to 24 hrs per day.
We employed and inducted new staff, completed training of existing staff, introduced systems of working and updated policies.
We identified areas of the home that would support additional bedrooms, thereby increasing occupancy, and these have now been registered with CQC bringing further income, increased occupancy levels and stability.
What is most pleasing about this case, is the home has completed a full refurbishment programme, they are fully staffed and have been upgraded with all but one CQC standard being rated as good. All in less than 12 months with a pandemic in the middle of it.
Following the success at this home the owner is now in the process of purchasing another two care homes, one operational and one opening from scratch. It certainly shows some help and support a new entrant can make a real difference to care.
