Expertise
Our Expertise can Help Improve Your Care Home Performance
Our consultants are highly versed in all of the relevant legal issues and requirements.
Finance
Balancing the Books
Our experts have had many years experience with running care homes effectively and within budget. Some of the ways we can help your care home perform well financialy are:
Analysis of profit and loss accounts to identify areas not performing to industry average, identifying why and action to resolve.
Fee analysis.
Analysis and recommendation in relation to staff % costs per individual home.
Increasing financial growth through expansion, development and commissioning of new builds.
Preparation of proposals and feasibility studies, to identify areas for growth and progression.
Experience in applying for tenders and submitting proposals both to Social Services, CSCI and Care Commission.
Quality
Contracts and Marketing
Assisting with the negotiation of contracts with commissioners of care, and with reinstatement of suspended contracts; maximising the home's income; advertising.
Aurora Care Group advises on maximising occupancy levels where this has been a problem; we know the techniques that really work. We have assisted home owners to promote and advertise their services to the right target audience, including the design of brochures and writing effective letters to secure referrals.
Contracts with Social Services are often based on a limited fee agreement; a “one price fits all” policy. Residents have different needs; based on dependency levels, we use a model where the actual care required can be costed, which informs negotiations with the commissioning bodies – specifically Social Services and Primary Care Trusts. The true cost of care needs to be reflected in the fees.
Management
Management and Quality Assuarance
Advising on the operation of care homes to achieve the highest quality of service for residents, and assuring the quality including completion of AQAAs. We can assist in the following areas:
Supporting owners in successfully challenging unreasonable demands for minimum staffing levels, particularly in areas where regulators have been well known for demanding higher staffing levels than in most other areas.
Providing a workable and well-researched model for matching staffing and skill mix to dependency.
Advising on the deployment of staff and the organisation of work to deliver a high quality service to residents.
Providing advice and training sessions on the AQAAs (Annual Quality Assurance Assessments) required by CSCI, and advising on the content of the supporting Evidence File.
Advising on meeting the requirements of Regulations in relation to Quality Assurance, specifically full QA systems, resident feedback questionnaires, Annual Development Plans, and Improvement Plans.
Undertaking disciplinary investigations and hearings including appeals.
