Restructuring Social Care Services

The adult social care sector faces significant challenges, including rising costs, stringent regulations, and shifting consumer expectations, which threaten the sustainability of many care homes. In response, Care England has engaged Lucy Corner, Director at Cornerstone Care Solutions, to explore the underlying causes of care home failure and outline robust turnaround strategies, with a particular emphasis on the importance of early intervention and collaboration with key stakeholders.

To address these issues, Care England has commissioned a series of three reports, beginning with Timely Intervention for Profitability and Compliance, with later instalments focusing on Quality and Financial KPIs and Governance and Risk Management.

These instalments all act as precursors to our upcoming webinar on the 4th of March, which will conduct a thorough overview of reports 1-3.

 

Click here to register for the webinar event

 

Report One: Timely Intervention for Profitability and Compliance

The inaugural report underscores the importance of early intervention and robust management practices to ensure the long-term sustainability of care homes. The report highlights the importance of timely responses to early warning signs such as declining occupancy rates, poor CQC inspections, and financial irregularities.

Proactive measures, including operational reviews, transparent reporting, staff upskilling, and enhanced stakeholder collaboration, are essential to prevent crises from escalating. It also emphasises the potential of leveraging technology to drive efficiencies, improve care delivery, and boost community engagement.

To access the full report click here.

 

Report Two: Identifying and Addressing Failing Care: A Guide for Care Home Professionals

This report explores the critical role of clinical and financial Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in identifying warning signs of failing care. By tracking these indicators, care homes can intervene early, address issues, and ensure sustainable care practices.

Ultimately, it underscores the importance of KPIs as a comprehensive early warning system for care homes. By closely monitoring both clinical and financial metrics, care home professionals can act proactively, preventing small issues from becoming larger crises and ensuring that care homes continue to meet both regulatory and resident expectations. In the end, focusing on KPIs ensures both operational success and a thriving, compassionate environment for residents and staff.

To access the full report click here. 

 

Report Three: The Importance of Risk Management Systems in Care Homes

This report ties together key insights from previous instalments and offers practical tools, such as the Risk Matrix, Risk Management Framework, and Business Continuity Plan, to help care homes identify, assess, and mitigate the aforementioned risks effectively. It also highlights the importance of other governance tools, such as such as a full suite of policies covering all aspects of health and safety, incident reporting, care planning tools, and emergency response plans. Together, these documents create a cohesive risk management system that allows care homes to proactively manage risks, maintain high-quality care, and remain compliant with regulatory standards.

This report explores the importance of these documents and provides a comprehensive list of other governance documents that care homes should maintain to ensure effective risk management. It concludes that a robust risk management framework, supported by these essential documents, enables care homes to operate with resilience. As such, this framework ensures the safety and well-being of residents and staff while safeguarding the home’s long-term success.

Risk Management Templates

• The Risk Matrix
• The Risk Management Framework
• The Risk Management Meeting Template
• The Business Continuity Plan (BCP)

 

The Full Report

 

To access the full report click here.

 

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About the Authors

Lucy is a dual registered nurse with a master’s degree in leadership and management. Her focus for the last 15 years has been supporting failing care providers, local authorities, investors, banks and insolvency practitioners in restructuring and turnaround strategies to ensure that the maximum value of care services is realised and maintained. Lucy started in critical care nursing, moved on to managing nursing homes, operating groups of homes, working as a CQC inspector across all sectors, and then focusing on turnaround with the incorporation of Cornerstone Care Solutions, and most recently becoming a vetted member of The Institute for Turnaround (The IFT).