domiciliary home care business advice please

[angelcare]

Hi
i came cross this web site when i was searching home care business advice..etc
i work as a carer for older people a few years.i decided to start my own business with my husband.but i have no idea where and how to start .what permission i need,where to register,what type of insurance i need,do i need lawyer,do i need accountant????
i couldnt find any information about it.please help me.i traped and stress as i dont know what to do.
if i go to citizen advice bureau or job centre do you think they give me advice?
is there anyone who do home care bussiness?
thanks for your time

 

[Billmccallum]

being realistic, how much do you have to invest?

Without a substantial level of funding (at least 30%), its unlikely you will get support.

 

[angelcare]

for beginning i am only planing to work with 2-3 clients.my husband will be registered manager for company.so will be small business on the beginning.when we get more clients and busy we ll employ more carers.
we dont know how much we need to spent.thats why i cant make mind up yet.
any idea how much need for small home care business?
thanks

 

[pioneer22]

You will need to register with the CQC and other regulating agencies, DBS etc

 

[angelcare]

Thanks.but any more specific answer please.what insurance i need?do i need lawyer?

 

[ethical PR]

Sounds like you need to divide your research into manageable chunks including;

Legal requirements
Competitor analysis
Operating costs
Staffing requirements
Cash flow forecast
Marketing research and plan
Premises research (if providing residential care)
Commissioners

You can then put a business plan together to see if it would be a feasible business proposition.

For insurance phone some commercial brokers. ( I am sure some specialise in your sector) and ask for advice.

I would suggest it would be useful to have an accountant on board and legal expert to help with employment and other contracts once you have decided to go ahead with your business

 

[VanillaL]

If you are registered to undertake personal care for your clients, as previously stated you will need to register with cqc Care Quality Commission, their fees alone for one brand can be a £1000 upwards, I believe, you will need public, employers and business insurance for your vehicles, if you are employing people etc. good luck

 

[frizzmi99]

For some information I would go to the UKHCA site, they are the industry Home Care Association.

Bluefin Insurance Services cover this sector and so do Towergate Patrick. If you supply to Government bodies then you will need £10m of Public Liability Insurance and if you have employees then you will need £10 for Employee Liability. Expect Insurance to be around £1k, it usually relates to level of turnover. Most insurance brokers will be aware of the market for Care Insurance.

If you want to grow in the market then likely you will supply a Local Council or the NHS in which case you will need working capital to cover their payment terms. If you are private client only then you can get away with smaller amounts of funding.

 

[Steve Sellers]

Just to add to what PR's excellent advice you should of course be CRB checked and CRB any employees.

You definitely need an accountant and if you take on staff an employment lawyer.

You will need to put in place all your paperwork. Risk assessments, care logs etc etc etc.

Further if you take on employees you will need to ensure you train them correctly. This includes safeguarding training, manual handling, use of a hoist etc etc - the list really is endless.

You do not appear to know much about what you are proposing to do. Would you not be better to attempt to get a managers job, and some experience of managing a care service before starting your own service?

 

[Paulwilliams1]

I have been through this process and now run a successful agency ( oaklands healthcare Europe ) however there are many many pitfalls. Please feel free to email me if you would like advice.

 

[safehands10]

Hi paul,
I was woundering whether you could give me some advise regarding the start up of a domiciliary care agency.
I have just registered with the CQC, and now i look on taking find clients.
What would be the best way to advise and try getting contracts of the council?

Thanks

 

[akshaymasih]

I have been through this process and now run a successful agency ( oaklands healthcare Europe ) however there are many many pitfalls. Please feel free to email me if you would like advice.

Hi

My name is Akshay Masih, me and my friends are planning to start a domiciliary care business in Derby. I read your thread before of how you got some help from the users of this forums. I would be very grateful to you if you can help me with the start up of this business.

Firstly, I would like to know the first steps to start the business?

Secondly if you could tell me how much money does it require approximately to start the business, and what expenses there for every year?

Thirdly, I would like to know if there are any professional bodies to help us set up the business.

Fourthly, if you could tell me how many staff members do i need in the start. We are planning to start as a small business and gradually expand it.

I would be ever so thankful to you if you can help me with these information. we are from care sector as well just like you was, we were also working in a nursing home for the past 3 years. so we have the knowledge of how a nursing home would work, but not to sure about a domiciliary agency.

Thank you. Waiting for your reply.

Akshay Masih

 

[George Smiley]

I'm in the same situation

Just been told that the laws have been changed so new care agencies don't need to register with CQC anymore. Apparently the laws were changed last year.

Im told bigger companies now own/administer most of these care homes so care agency would be required to register into their database to be given homes to supply staff.

I will come back shortly with more info but would appreciate if anyone has more additional insight on start up stages

 

[businessfunding]

Great advice as ever from ethical and others

You mentioned job centres - are either of you on jsa? If so you might get onto the Nea scheme. Otherwise you might qualify for a government start up loan. In either case you will get access to a mentor who can help you

As a starting point I would get hold of a detailed cashflow template and start to work on it. It's not really about the figures at this stage, it's about the thought behind the figures, which will also help you to ask more focused questions.

 

[Bob]

@businessfunding Unfortunately you are replying to a 2012 query resurrected yesterday
The OP hasn't been seen since

 

[George Smiley]

I wanted to ask the same question but wasnt sure if if I should start a new thread or just contribute to the ones already here instead

My situation is as follows:

1. A business partner is willing to put all the start up costs PLUS floating money to pay wages until we get paid.

2. The office is ready.

3. what I needed was:

a) checklist of what we need since we don't need to register with CQC
b) Any accounting, time-sheet etc softwares
c) I understand that most of these homes are managed by bigger companies that agency has to register with, any idea names and which companies we can contact?
d) Any ideas on which banks offer good business banking would e appreciated

4. I will own 50% of the company, currently working out on the shareholders agreement.

 

[George Smiley]

akshay,

check your inbox

 

[nasman]

You need to be CQC registered if you offer personal care. Clients can be gotten via Social Services ...there is way too much to write on my phone now

 

[nasman]

forgot to say, this should get you started, I can't link to it from my phone but google The Domiciliary Care Agencies Regulations 2002

 

[Paul Baldwin]

There is lots of useful information on the CQC website - http://www.cqc.org.uk/organisations-we-regulate/registering-first-time/regulated-activities

Sales pitch alert (sorry) - you will need specialist domiciliary care insurance....

 

[splashernet services]

You can start a home care agency with as little as £5000 (£1000 website £1000 advertising £1000 insurance £1000 policy £200 uniforms £25 business cards £25 stationary)

 

[George Smiley]

You can start a home care agency with as little as £5000 (£1000 website £1000 advertising £1000 insurance £1000 policy £200 uniforms £25 business cards £25 stationary)

Is that the whole check list?

Kindly elaborate please.

 

[Daly]

Hi,

I know this is a old message thread, but I am just looking for some more information and this is the main thread I saw.

I have opened a new Domcillary care agency from scratch and am now in the position to get bussiness with clients. I was wondering if anyone has specific information about how to get clients.

Please feel free to contact me or ask for more information if needed.

Look forward to hearing from someone.

 

[onkarsingh]

Good Morning All

Hope your well.

I would like to introduce myself, I work for a company called Croner, who are one of the UK’s leading providers of support for HR and health and safety management and we have been helping organisations become more efficient and effective for more than 70 years.

Croner work alongside many care homes providing support which can enable your care home to be up to date with CQC

It may be beneficial to see how we work alongside similar businesses making sure the compliant with health and safety. It is always beneficial to see what external support you can actually obtain making your life easier.

Thank you

Onkar Singh

Business Development

 

[Joe camel]

Hello,
I am look at starting a Domiciliary Care Business, I am starting with a very limited fund. I need full policies and procedures documents to be cqc compliance.
Can any one assist me with templates for all documents?
Please PM me if you can help.
I do not have the necessary fund to purchase document out there.
Many thanks

 

[Scalloway]

If you can't afford the cost of policies and procedures documents can you meet the other requirements?

https://www.qcs.co.uk/useful-guides/domcare-startup/