Setting up a new care home.

There are many new entrants into the care industry every year. Some are existing providers who want to expand their portfolio and others who are new to the industry.

Swift Management Services specialise in supporting the smaller care provider, whether you are looking to expand by opening a new care home or you are looking to buy and operate your first care home in UK. In both cases specialist knowledge and support is required as delays in opening or taking over an existing care home can be fraught with issues which can cause delay and financial hardship for the operator.

How Swift Management Services can assist an existing care provider set up a new care home as a new build.

Involving a consultancy from the outset can be very useful as there are several key points to consider when building a new care home, this can include deciding how much input the provider wants in the build and commissioning stage, to fee structure, layout and ROI. Funding for your project will be a key consideration and a project appraisal from a consultant can significantly enhance your banks evaluation of the project.

Once you have appointed an architect or project management company, it is important to get the plan right from the outset. Do you have the right layout to optimise staffing? Have you considered the flows around the building from all aspects and have you sized the rooms appropriately? All experienced architects will tell you they have the ability to do this and we would agree from a purely aesthetic point of view. Our consultants are very accustomed to reviewing plans with architects to ensure that when the home is operational it optimises staff, maintains infection control standards and ensures residents have the very best quality of life. We offer this service as the consultants we use to work on new build projects are Registered Nurses with many years of commissioning experience from Care Homes to Hospitals. We look at the plans from an operational viewpoint.

Taking a new build care home project through to completion our team advise on equipment and commissioning, staff appointment and induction training and the all-important CQC registration. The registration process is not a quick process and the home cannot admit until the registration is achieved therefore our expertise in completing the registration process can be invaluable to ensure the registration is not delayed due to the paperwork not being correct.

At every stage of a new development the Swift Management Team will provide all important advice and support to ensure a seamless new build from conception to completion.

Thinking of buying a going concern.

Many smaller operators grow by acquisition, when this is the case, a full appraisal of the business you are purchasing can be invaluable from the outset. Our experienced team can undertake detailed due diligence reports, which will be good governance for both the provider and any investors. With many years of experience in assessing care home businesses we can help you make the right decisions.

If a provider is looking to purchase a home with a poor CQC rating, our team can write action plans to demonstrate to both the regulators and the board what will be required & the sort of cost involved. This adds value to your decision and provides reassurance to the regulators.

Whether a new provider looking at buying a going concern or an existing operator looking to grow their portfolio the registration process is again all important. This needs to be timed accurately to ensure that the transfer is seamless. This in includes the TUPE of staff, liaison with residents and relatives, as well as the transition of local authority contracts. All of this is vital to ensure that the takeover is seamless and minimises the effect on cashflow during the transition period.

During the first six months of trading your new care home we can offer a team of consultants who can review the business, ensure that policies and procedures are in place up to date and workable. We will work with the staff team to ensure they settle into the new culture and then capture the improvements and changes by undertaking staff, resident and relatives’ surveys.

Our team has access to a selection of partner companies which can help you rationalise purchasing to save money, particularly if you are a small group of care homes. We can advise on refurbishment and again, where required, put you in touch with the right companies to assist.

If IT and electronic record keeping is important to you, we have the experience to help you select the right package and then implement it on your behalf. Many of our clients we have assisted with acquisition view our team as instrumental in making their new care home a success. Our clients new to the industry have viewed our support as a vital part of getting through the process.

Considering becoming a Care Home provider and setting up your first care home.

Becoming a care home provider for the first time takes a great deal of consideration. There is far more to consider than buying a property, employing staff and admitting residents. Many people underestimate the costs involved in the preparation process.

The experienced team at Swift Management Services can discuss your options, work with you and your investors, find the right property and establish your systems procedures and policies. When the prospective provider is content, we can assist them to employ the right staff particularly the registered manager and nominated individual if required and complete the registration process.

Given the first registration a company completes includes registering the overarching company known as the provider at the same time as registering the manager and the premises, it is vitally important that things are completed correctly. Usually setting up a care home from scratch for a new provider will mean considerable pressure on finances. Given the home has to be ready to accept residents the staff need to be in post and the processes, policies and procedures need to be in place, any delay in the registration process can be costly to any provider and therefore the experience at Swift Management means you minimalize the risks of a delayed registration due to a minor administrative error.

Why Use a Consultant?

Setting up and registering a new service is not an easy thing to achieve, especially if you lack the resources within a small management team to get everything done in time to ensure a seamless start-up or take over. Our team of experts understand the process, have the skills and knowledge to complete due diligence giving investors comfort, whilst having the operational skills to get you through the registration process.

How your administration function performs is vital to the success of your business. Having a great administrator is key as they are often the first point of contact for users of your service. Our consultants are also able to provide you with a full administration service, ranging from a review of current administration processes resulting in a detailed action plan to address any identified issues, to recruitment and training of suitably qualified staff to support your business. We have experience in working with a number of industry standard IT systems to provision of bespoke policies and procedures that are fully compliant and enable you to demonstrate to regulators sound financial controls. Correct invoicing of clients generates regular cash flow for your business and our consultants are adept at working with local authorities, self-funders and clinical commissioning groups and building sustainable relationships that mean you receive your funds on time.