YOU NEED EXPERT SUPPORT TO RUN YOUR CARE HOME - YOU CAN FIND IT HERE

It will demand expertise in many areas. In funding, in business viability planning and in its everyday operations, in staffing, in legal matters and in marketing.

It also requires a network of contacts - in knowing key people who can help you answer specific problems

Finding advisors who can support your business with expertise is vital

At Rangewell, as part of our commitment to supporting UK businesses, we have put together a directory of people with the skills you need - and made it free for you to use. So, if you need professional support for your care home business, call us for details of the professionals who can help with expertise and services you need - and who cover your location, including:

• Accountants
• Advisors
• Sales and acquisition agents
• Equipment suppliers
• Legal Services
• Media services
• Partners
• Valuers

Why you need a specialised advisor to help you run your Care Home business

Your Care Home must face a range of challenges over and above other businesses.

You need to be profitable to survive. You need to provide answers to the needs of your residents, many of whom will be frail and demanding. You will need to meet the growing list of legal requirements, and to meet and exceed the standards rightly demanded by the CQC.

It means that you need to call on expertise, not just in care, and in the everyday challenges of managing care home staff, but in finance, nursing, equipment, planning, law, a growing list of regulatory demands and much more besides.

Very few people can offer the full spectrum of expertise. Being able to call on an advisor who has the necessary knowledge could provide your business with the support you need - avoiding costly mistakes, avoiding the risk of non-compliance and helping you drive your care home forward.

Planning

Planning a Care Home business is vital for success. An advisor can work with you to develop a business plan that is fully viable and which can, crucially, take into account their knowledge of the local market, demographics and conditions.

Being able to prepare a business plan backed by this level of expertise will be vital to let you maximise your chances, both of securing the necessary funding and of enjoying real business success.

CQC compliance

Full compliance with the requirements of the Care Quality Commission is vital to operating your Care Home. You need to ensure that your home and the service you provide meet the regulations and fundamental standards set out in their code. To do this you need to ensure that the leadership, management and governance of your organisation assures the delivery of high-quality and person-centred care, supports learning and innovation, and promotes an open and fair culture.

Failing a CQC inspection could mean costs and disruption, and potentially even mean closing your business. An experienced advisor could help you avoid those problems, looking at the five Key Lines of Enquiry (KLOE) that would be reviewed at a CQC Inspection, and helping you ensure that your business can work to meet - and exceed - them before you face actual reputational or financial damage as a result of any shortcomings. Mock Inspections can help identify issues, a lead to a comprehensive quality assurance survey backed by a detailed report with recommended and costed action points.

If you are already facing CQC issues, such as inadequate or needs improvements ratings, an advisor can either help you challenge the report, write an improvement plan or work with you to make rapid improvements in your standards and practices.

Training

The Care Home business needs professional management and skilled staff. Building skills and knowledge can be challenging - and an experienced advisor can help. All levels of training can be provided, with mentoring, support and knowledge training for Care Home Owners, Directors, Senior Managers, Registered Managers and the full range of mandatory training courses and skills development training for your Care Home team, as well as providing training, and training needs analysis.

Training needs to be ongoing. Topics such as dementia awareness, SOVA, DOLS and even the basics like moving all warrant professional training. Ensuring that you and your staff are fully aware of industry best practices can be a material contribution to ensuring that you are able to deliver the standards you need.

In addition to training, an advisor specialising in the sector should be able to help you with recruitment, along with the retention of staff. They may also be able to provide valuable input into team management, in appraisals and in disciplinary and grievances procedures which combine fairness with legal obligations while safeguarding your business interests.

Building profitability

Even with a sound business, profitability cannot be taken as a given. You may need to constantly review your business practices to ensure that you maintain the level of income that you need and to benchmark against competitors. When profitability or occupancy is affected, it is vital to be able to call on advisors who are fully aware of prevailing issues and who can help investigate and identify why those shortcomings are affecting your business - and how can help you develop solutions which will help you to get your business back on track.

Policies and procedures need to be reviewed regularly to maintain profitability and to ensure you remain compliant. You need access to evidence-based practice, which an advisor can provide.

Occupancy levels, fee scales, contracts supplier arrangments and marketing are all key areas where an advisor will be able to use expertise to help you answer your immediate challenges.

Selling your Care Home

The time will come when you are ready to pass on ownership of your Care Home business. Business succession is a major challenge for Care Home owners and you will need to balance your wish to maximise the price you may realise for your business with your need to safeguard the interests of those in your care. Preparing your business for sale may be a long process, but being able to call on expert support to help smooth the process and accelerate your readiness for sale, while minimising the costs involved in the process, is advantageous.

It could allow you to sell your Home in less time, and maximise the return you are able to enjoy while helping ensure a smooth transition for your staff and residents.

Finding the specialist Care Home advisors you need

At Rangewell, we work with Care Home businesses across the UK. We help them secure the external finance they need at every stage, from set-up and acquisition to everyday operations and growth.

This means that we work closely with many professionals providing advice and support to the sector.

We are always happy to share our network, and if you feel that your Care Home business needs the support of an advisor with experience in the sector, please call us on 020 3936 8607 and we will be happy to introduce you to an advisor in your region with the skills and expertise you need to complement yours.

Joining the Rangewell Care Home ‘ecosystem’

Are you a business advisor with expertise in the Care Home sector? Please contact us to discuss being included in our Care Home database. There is no charge for professionals who wish to be included in our ‘ecosystem’.

Call us now on our Care Home Support Line on 020 3936 8607, for support and to answer your care home finance needs.