Launching a Domiciliary Care Agency

1. Launching a Domiciliary Care Agency

2. Building a new care business is really a daunting task, and there are various things to consider to ensure that you’re getting it correct. With the added burden of CQC registration, building your vision needs you to consider different factors. In our April blog post, Care Agency Media have outlined where to begin with establishing your business and what things to consider to ensure a smooth process. According to King’s Fund, between 2019 and 2020, 838,530 adults received funded long-term social care, primarily within their own homes and nursing homes. These figures demonstrate how essential domiciliary care is in the care market. Upon starting your business, it’s essential to have the proper policies and procedures in place to make sure that you successfully register with the regulator and that you can pass inspections. This pertains to the Care Inspectorate in Scotland and the Care Inspectorate in Wales, as it does for the CQC policies and procedures in England. This blog post outlines the fundamentals you should consider when approaching your business. Registration Before offering a care service in England, you need to register with the cqc domiciliary care. Under the 2008 Social and Health Care Act you must register your organization and he average person who will act as your Registered Manager. This is often yourself if you have the relevant qualifications and so are not employing or working in a partnership with someone else who will fulfil those requirements. You can begin your registration with the CQC at Register as a new| Care Quality Commission.

3. Qualifications and Training The CQC states that ‘care providers show that they comply with the relevant regulations covering staff competence and training’. All care staff must have completed the Care Certificate that applies to the adult social care sector, and these standards should be met by you within 12 weeks of commencing employment. Registered Manager Beyond the Care Certificate, certain roles require specific qualifications to be in place before you can provide care. The person responsible for this is the Registered Manager, and they are an important aspect of your business. When recruiting a Registered Manager, you must ensure that they maintain the relevant experience and skills required before providing a care service. This is a fundamental role within your establishment and one that the CQC shall analyses from the registration stage. Responsible Individual The role of the Responsible Individual is a key management position. The post holder must demonstrate they possess all the experience and skills required to oversee a care business. This isn’t necessarily a position in which the post holder provides care. It's quite common for the same person to perform as the Registered Manager and the Responsible Individual in a start-up business. In this circumstance, all of the above requirements for the Registered Manager apply.

5. Funding Ensuring an adequate cash flow for your business could be problematic in the start-up stage. Winning tenders is likely to be a significant element in securing the income you require, and understanding the process is one of the keys achievements. Once a tender is advertised, you need to register your expression of interest with the tendering body. Succeeding this is a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) sent to you with a deadline for completion and return. The shortlist of providers is established from the submitted PQQs. If you make the shortlist successfully, you can tender to provide a service officially. Employing Staff Successfully running a domiciliary care agency could be an extremely challenging task. The logistics of providing care in multiple locations on recruiting suitably qualified and experienced staff rely. You should be certain of the required experience and qualifications when sourcing suitable candidates. It’s important to consider background checks with the DBS also, where to advertise for positions, which agency to use, and how exactly to conduct an interview. When establishing your domiciliary care agency, you should consider factors outlined in this blog. Below is a checklist you can use to remain mindful of the key factors to consider to ensure your business is compliant and successful.

6. Checklist: • Register with the CQC, Care Inspectorate or CIW – both your agency and the Registered Manager • Marketing, • Setting up your business, • Insurance, • Marketing, • Tendering, • Recruitment and Training, • Pay and VAT, • DBS, • Company registration, • Funding.

7. At Care Agency Media, we are committed to assisting you build your business stress-free. One of the most stressful factors of running a social care company is dealing with the CQC. We offer support with: • Registration  • CQC Pre-Inspection Audits • CQC Awareness and Service Development Training • Registered Manager Awareness Training • CQC Compliance Workshops • At Care Agency Media, we provide our clients with the tools and the resources they need to start and run a successful domiciliary care company. We research and come up with a suitable concept specific to your business, which we share with you and if you are not happy with the concept, we will provide further concepts based on your feedback and input.