care agency business plan examples uk

How to start a home care agency

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Between the UK’s ever-growing ageing population and the NHS crisis, demand for domiciliary (or home-based) care services is skyrocketing – and the industry is worth a whopping £7.8bn per year.

While the NHS provides care to countless vulnerable adults and elderly people, there’s plenty of room for new independent care agencies to offer care services to those who need them. Just look at the success of Startups 100 2023 business, Lottie . Founded in 2021, it has taken on a valuation of £45m in just two years.

Your business will find reliable, qualified care providers for clients, collect payment, and then pay your staff a fair portion of these earnings. It’s possible to manage your care partners or carers remotely without having to pay for office space – though you’ll still face significant start-up costs in the form of staff salaries and training.

To make a successful home care business plan , you’ll need to have qualifications and ample experience in the care sector, the ability to effectively manage a team, and a burning desire to provide high-quality, compassionate care. If this sounds like you, read on to find out how to start a home care agency.

There’s a huge amount of planning that needs to go into launching a care agency. Thankfully, one area which needn’t cause undue stress is creating a website to promote your business. Thanks to modern templates like the one below , you can create one of your own in under an hour.

At Startups.co.uk, we test and rate website builder tools, and we’ve identified Wix as one of the best you can choose for creating a business site. Wix even has a selection of  custom website templates designed specifically for care agencies  – you simply drop your own business information, wording and preferred imagery into your chosen template. Better still, it’s completely free to try  for yourself.

The key steps to take when starting a home care agency are:

Your care agency business plan, regulations and training, registering with the cqc, equipment and costs.

• Managing care agency finances

Attracting care workers to your agency

Securing contracts and growing your agency.

At Startups.co.uk, we’re here to help small UK businesses to get started, grow and succeed. We have helpful resources for helping new businesses get off the ground – you can use the tool below to get started today.

What Does Your Business Need Help With?

First of all, you’ll need to think about the types of home care you’d like your home care agency to provide – for example:

• Nursing and healthcare
• Personal care – such as dressing or washing
• Emergency care
• Housekeeping or domestic work
• Help with cooking and preparing meals
• Companionship

The type of care you’re able to provide will depend on your (or your staff’s) experience, skills and qualifications. In the care sector it’s of utmost importance that you hold the qualifications necessary to carry out certain services, but more on that in section two.

You’ll also want to consider whether your agency will provide care to clients in:

• Regular 15-minute visits
• Day-long care, for example in eight-hour shifts
• Round-the-clock 24-hour care
• Anything in between
• All of the above!

Again, this will depend on what you and your staff are qualified for and experienced enough to do – and what your clients need from you.

It’s worth investigating your local area and finding out what sort of care is in high demand. Take a look at popular local care services and find out what they provide.

Will Donnelly is co-founder of Lottie , an online care agency community. Donnelly said that the past two years has shown the country how important the social care market is, creating new opportunities for healthcare startups.

“Without the incredible efforts of our social care heroes, there is no way the country would have got through COVID-19.

“I believe COVID-19 is an opportunity for homes and the wider sector to adopt more digital and tech products, which in turn will lead to huge sector efficiencies and operator savings.”

Alternatively, if you’re interested in launching  a care home  rather than a mobile home care provider, check out our detailed step-by-step guide to starting your own care home .

Writing a business plan

Though it may seem like a mammoth task, writing a business plan will help you to think in depth about every aspect of running your business – from people management to marketing to financial forecasts – helping you to plan accurately for the future and pre-empt any obstacles.

Don’t feel like your business plan has to be set in stone. As Ranjan Singh, co-founder and CEO of HealthHero , Europe’s largest telemedicine provider, told us “it is okay to walk away, change and adapt your business. Sometimes a business cannot succeed down a certain path for reasons that are completely outside your control.”

To get started, we’d suggest checking out our free business plan template .

Once you’re up and running, the  CQC  ( Care Quality Commission  – the important regulating body for all things care) will undertake regular inspections of your agency to ensure it’s up to scratch.The commission will seek to answer the below questions about your agency. Stick to these expectations and you won’t go far wrong…

Is it safe? You and your carers should:

• Respect your clients and protect their dignity.
• Rectify and investigate any mistakes or incidents openly and immediately.
• Be open with clients about their medications, and store and administer them safely.
• Be reliable, and ensure clients are made aware of any upcoming changes.

Is it effective? You and your carers should:

• Have the knowledge and skills required to work with given clients.
• Ensure clients stay in good health by understanding their needs and listening to their preferences.
• Give as much control to the clients as possible.

Is it caring? You and your carers should:

• Know your clients’ backgrounds and hopes for their care.
• Encourage clients to share their views.
• Develop trusting, positive relationships with clients and care about their wellbeing.

Is it responsive to clients’ needs? You and your carers should:

• Work with clients and their families and friends to develop personalised treatment and support plans which adapt to clients’ changing preferences.
• Plan and support with any hospital visits as required.
• Take complaints and concerns seriously and deal with them quickly.

Is it well-led? You should ensure that:

• Your staff are happy, well supported by management, support one another and know what’s expected of them.
• Staff feel confident that, if they report any concerns, they’ll be taken seriously and their worries will be investigated.
• Staff provide the best care that they can and work well with others who are involved in their clients’ care.

Will Donnelly advises care startups not to get too bogged down in early-stage planning, as he learned when developing the Lottie MVP (minimum-viable product).

“Your assumptions will be wrong and product iteration is everything. Other than taking an MVP approach, I would always advise every new founder to speak to as many customers as possible. At Lottie, this is something I took huge pride in and before hiring any other Care Experts, I was responsible for handling Lottie’s first 1,000 enquiries and handling them in a very manual way.

“While it was incredibly exhausting, and at times felt very unproductive, [with] this unique insight that I gained that will define Lottie’s product roadmap in the future.

Chris and Will Donnelly, co-founders of Lottie

Need help staying on track?

If you’re starting a care home then you’ll be facing a number of tasks. Keeping everything organised is vital, and we recommend using a software management tool to help.

Project management software is a great help whether you’re working alone or with others. You can assign tasks, streamline projects and effectively track progress all in one place.

Find out which project management tool we recommend today .

Every care agency must have what’s known as a registered manager – an individual who manages the day-to-day running of the agency and oversees its activity, ensuring it complies with regulations.

While this doesn’t have to be the business’ owner, it also can be – so unless you decide to recruit a senior staff member right away, you’ll likely act as the registered manager yourself.

You do need to have the experience and qualifications called for by the role, though – including either:

• A QCF Level 5 Diploma in Leadership for Health and Social Care (either a pathway in Management of Adult Services or Management of Adult Residential Services),
• A Registered Manager’s Award (RMA), or
• An NVQ Level 4 in Leadership and Management for Care Services

While the latter two are no longer offered, they are still accepted by the CQC as valid qualifications.

It’s also worth noting that these qualifications do need to be supplemented by another which shows you have a practical understanding of your specific care setting. For example, a nursing or health and social care qualification.

If you’re going to be providing care to clients yourself, you (and any care staff you hire, for that matter) must also have completed what’s known as  common inductions standards (CIS) training .

Before you take  any  steps towards getting started, you must first register with:

• The Care Quality Commission (CQC) if you’re based in England
• The Care Inspectorate if you’re based in Scotland
• The CSSIW if you’re based in Wales

It’s a legal requirement under the Health and Social Care Act that you do this; registering both  your agency  and the person who’ll be your  registered manager  – whether that’s you or someone else.

Registering with the CQC is a fairly long process – but it gives you the opportunity to prove that you’re appropriately qualified, experienced enough, and truly committed to providing home care of exceptional standards.

As part of the registration process, you will:

• Apply for a  DBS (Disclosure Barring Service) check . This check aims to prove whether or not you’re legally able to work with vulnerable adults – so without passing your DBS check, you can’t legally set up a care agency. If you have any co-founders and a registered manager who isn’t you, they’ll also need to undergo a DBS check.
• Supply  references  from previous employers.
• Give a reference from  your GP  which states that you’re healthy and fit enough to provide care for others.
• Fill in the appropriate  CQC registration form .
• Apply to be named  registered manager  (or have your intended registered manager fill in an application to be named so).
• Create a  statement of purpose . This should cover every aspect of your business in detail – including the services you’ll be providing, what you intend to achieve with your agency, and your contact details. Don’t worry – the CQC provides a template to help ensure you don’t miss anything important.

Once you’ve done all of the above, you’ll be able to submit your CQC registration application! You can get started online by visiting  the CQC website .

In order to register, you’ll need to pay an annual registration fee. You can calculate what your registration fee will be by multiplying the number of clients you’ll have by 45.77, then adding 239: Your registration fee = £239 + (number of service users × 45.77)

NB: This fee can reach a maximum of £78,047. This applies to those who have 1,700 service users or more.

Because you and your staff will be responsible for your clients’ wellbeing – coming into close contact with them and administering medications and treatments – your business will need to be insured against any costly legal claims that could come your way.

You’ll need to look into getting:

• Public liability insurance
• Professional indemnity insurance
• Employers’ liability insurance
• Medical malpractice cover
• Treatments liability insurance

Plus any other covers which you believe are suitable.

Rather than buying these covers separately, it may be that you’re able to find an insurance package specifically for care agencies. Remember to shop around rather than settling on the first offer you see.

It’s difficult to predict how much it’ll cost to start a care agency. Your start-up costs don’t have to be crippling – after all, you can start from home, and won’t need to hire hordes of staff right away – but you will have a few significant outlays:

• Paying your CQC registration fee (you’ll need to pay this once a year to keep your registration)
• Getting insurance
• Paying staff salaries
• Taking on marketing costs (i.e. paying for a website building service, organising promotional materials, etc)
• Buying or renting care agency software
• Paying for any training required by you or your staff
• Renting an office space (if you’re not starting from home)

When you start up, you might find that cashflow can be problematic – for example, you might have to pay a member for staff for care that they’ve provided before the client they cared for pays you.

In the Startups Forum, forum user Hannah states the importance of having “positive cashflow”, and advises: “You need a strong factoring company to support cashflow.” You can find out more about what’s available in our guide to the best factoring companies .

When it comes to starting a care agency, you won’t need much in the way of equipment – but as you’ll be dealing with confidential care records you should ensure your business operates from a room (whether that’s a room in your home or in an office space) that can be  locked tight .

You’ll also want to invest in a fire-proof, lockable unit – such as a  safe  or  filing system  – where confidential staff and service user records can be stored.

Of course, if you opt to go paperless and only store records digitally using a  care software programme , this won’t be so much of a concern for you – though you will need to ensure your  computer or laptop  – and the software on it – is password-protected and stored securely when you’re not in your office.

You might also choose to supply  care uniforms  for your staff, although it’s also perfectly acceptable for you to ask them to purchase their own. If you do this, though, you’ll need to be able to direct them to a reputable company from which they can buy their uniform.

You will, however, need to supply your staff with  photographic ID badges  – it’s important that they have these on them when visiting clients’ homes and carrying out care services.

It’s also a good idea to provide any  protective clothing  that your staff might need, such as aprons or disposable gloves.

Home care software

If you want your care agency to run smoothly without the need for endless paperwork on your part, investing in home care scheduling software is a must.

In short, care agency software aims to automate administrative, paperwork-heavy tasks that might otherwise take you (and your staff) hours to complete.

A good software package can enable you to:

• Plan and record your staff’s shifts and appointments in a digital timetable
• Hold a record of both your staff and clients’ details
• Possibly ask staff to check in and out of appointments so you can monitor their activity

If you opt for a cloud-based software system, you and your staff will be able to access the portal remotely using any device – from office computers to personal smartphones. So if you/they need to check schedules or upload notes on the run, you can.

You’ll save yourself a lot of time and headache if you opt for a package which also includes financial capabilities such as accounting and invoicing, and HR functions.

There are a number of software packages on the market for call scheduling, rotas, invoicing and call monitoring.

But new providers should be wary of off-the-shelf packages for policies as many of them are not compliant with the Health and Social Care Act essential standards.

You might also want to consider creating a business email to better communicate with your patients. Check out our step-by-step guide on how to create one.

Will Donnelly, co-founder of Lottie , an online care agency community,  emphasised the importance of digital solutions when starting a social care business.

“The social care market is broken in so many ways. Consumers lack transparency, it’s digitally backwards and in the long-term, the sector is unsustainable without a dramatic increase of funding and innovation.

“For me, the opportunity to redesign a sector from the ground up is incredibly exciting, but also to instil positivity in an unloved market and to champion families across the UK in one of life’s most stressful scenarios.”

Handling your care agency’s finances

Starting a business takes money and time, and accountancy software can help with both. Whether you’re self-employed, a sole trader, or running a business with staff, you’ll need to stay on top of your finances. If you’re not ready to employ an accountant to help out, then we suggest using an online accountancy tool.

Running a care agency can be hectic, so you probably don’t want to spend a lot of time thinking about your money. However, you can’t ignore it if you want your business to succeed. Accountancy software is designed to simplify the complex processes related to money.

From tracking your outgoings to managing your taxes, you’ll find any finance process simpler with the right tools in place. Take a look below at the accountancy software that we’ve rated highest.

Ranjan Singh, co-founder and CEO of HealthHero, told us that there is lots of different financial information to keep track of when running a care business: “There is a range of information that is critical to me on a very regular basis, but first and foremost it is about growth.

“I keep a close eye on metrics related to service levels, the consultations we offer people, and client satisfaction. Then, of course, product integration/development, budgets and where we are placing our bets in terms of investment in technology. We are growing so quickly and we have such a huge opportunity to change healthcare for the better, that being laser-focused on our objectives is critical for success.”

Hiring qualified, trustworthy, friendly and reliable care workers is crucial to the success of your home care agency.

First, you need to attract candidates using a  targeted recruitment strategy . Think about the type of person you want to hire, and advertise the job in the places they’ll see it. For example:

• Get in touch with local universities and ask them to share your details with graduates in care qualifications.
• Consider taking on apprentices.
• Partner with your local JobCentre Plus, asking them to put you in touch with candidates with the right values and qualifications.
• Advertising the role on your website.
• Listing the vacancy on online job websites such as Reed and Indeed, or on the government’s Find a Job service.

NB: Any staff you hire must:

• Undertake a  DBS check  to confirm that they’re legally able to work closely with vulnerable adults and children.
• Complete  CIS training  and gain a  Care Certificate  (if they’re new to the care sector). If they haven’t already done this, they can do so after you hire them – but it must be within 12 weeks of their starting to work for you.

After hiring a new care worker to your agency, you’ll need to be prepared to pay for any training they need to advance their skills, and shadow them as they go out on care visits and shifts until you’re confident that they’re strong care workers.

While inducting a new carer can be costly and time-consuming, it’s also a crucial process. One of your workers providing inadequate care to a client could lead to a loss of clients, legal claims and even bad publicity – so inducting and training carers properly will benefit your business in the long run.

Will Donnelly told us: “As a first-time founder (ignoring my events business previously), I’ve learnt so much about employment and people management. Ultimately, you can’t do everything yourself and finding/maintaining incredible talent is what defines any business.

“Thankfully, I have started Lottie with my brother, Chris, who’s previously built a successful business, which has allowed us to jump a lot of the hurdles, I would have inevitably been tripped up by.”

Care agencies can receive care contracts from their local authorities, who pay them for the services they provide to clients.

While this can be a simpler way to gain contracts than attracting private clients through marketing, it’s worth remembering that local authorities often don’t pay very well. So, while tendering for contracts from your local council can be a good way to kickstart business, it’s not always viable to rely on them as you grow.

Local authorities do give contracts to new care providers, especially those in their own borough. Some local authorities are allowing new domiciliary care providers to bid for tender; even those who have not yet been inspected by CQC and are new care service providers.

The number of service using clients is growing all the time, and there are only so many existing service providers in one borough. If the existing service providers do not have the capacity to accommodate new service users, the local authority will gladly take on new service providers and keep business in their borough – otherwise users go to their neighbouring areas for new service providers.

There are certain rules and regulations within the public sector about making space for new start-up businesses and not always going for the big fish to give new start-ups a chance, but as mentioned, different local councils work in different ways in terms of whether they follow that rule or not.

Will Donnelly, co-founder of Lottie, said: “ To date, we’ve been overwhelmed by the reception for Lottie, both from customers (families) and care partners. However, doing something different and new in any sector is always going to have its challenges, let alone a market as behind as the care home industry.

“But, persistence is key and staying true to your company’s value and mission is paramount.”

Marketing for private sector clients

Alternatively, care agencies can publicly advertise their services in order to encourage clients to organise care directly with the agency.

In order to market your agency, you should try:

• Setting up a website. No matter how you get your contracts, an informative, easy-to-use website is a must – you can set one up by either hiring a freelance web designer or using a website builder software. Be sure to list your services, price packages and contact details on your site, and optimise it for search so that it appears on Google when someone searches for care in your area.
• Leaflet drops.  These entail printing out a number of professional-looking leaflets – which detail your services and list your contact details – and delivering them through local letterboxes into peoples’ homes. This is something you can do yourself, or enlist the help of an organisation that can coordinate large-scale postal campaigns, such as Royal Mail.
• Traditional advertising.  Have an advert printed in the local paper and magazines, or read out over the radio. Just ensure what you’re putting out there is of a professional standard – you may need to hire a freelance designer or copywriter.
• Referral marketing. Reach out to local doctors and hospitals and work to build a positive relationship with them, with the aim that they will recommend you to their patients who are in need of home care. You should also ask current clients to spread the word about you.
• Social media.  This is a good way to grow your client base and connect with people who might be looking to use, or learn more about, your service. As with a website, be sure to list your services, price packages and contact details on your site, and optimise it for search so that it appears on Google when someone searches for care in your area.

Lottie’s Instagram profile

What’s next?

If you’re an experienced care professional and feel confident that you’d be able to lead a team of care workers, starting your own home care agency could be the ideal business opportunity for you.

Remember: quality of care is key. If you strive to treat every client as you’d like your own family members to be cared for – and instil this outlook into your care staff, too – your care agency could well succeed.

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How to Start Care Agency in the UK? | A Step-by-Step Guide

Are you passionate about providing compassionate care and looking for a rewarding business opportunity? Starting a care agency in the UK could be the perfect venture for you. With the UK’s home-based care services industry valued at £7.8 billion per year, there is immense potential for success.

In this step-by-step guide, we will walk you through the process of starting your own care agency in the UK. Whether you have experience in the care sector or are new to the industry, we will provide you with the essential information you need to set up your care business and make a positive impact in the lives of those in need of quality care services.

Starting a care business may seem daunting, but with the right guidance and preparation, you can establish a successful agency. We will cover various aspects, including planning your business, understanding regulations and training requirements, financial considerations, marketing, securing contracts, and utilizing technology and software.

Follow our expert advice and turn your passion for care into a thriving business. Whether you envision providing nursing and healthcare, personal care, emergency care, housekeeping, or companionship services, we have the insights to help you get started. Let’s embark on this fulfilling journey together and make a difference in the lives of individuals and families in your community.

How to Start Care Agency in the UK?

The first step in starting a care agency is to create a comprehensive business plan. This plan will serve as your roadmap and guide your decision-making process throughout the setup and operation of your care agency.

When developing your care agency business plan , take into consideration the types of home care services you intend to offer. These services may include nursing and healthcare, personal care, emergency care, housekeeping, or companionship. Identify the specific areas of care you wish to specialize in to differentiate your agency from competitors.

Determine the level of care that your agency will provide. Consider whether you will offer regular 15-minute visits, day-long care, or round-the-clock 24-hour care. Understanding the level of care you can offer will help determine the resources and staff you will need to have in place.

Research the demand for different types of care in your local area. Analyzing the market will provide valuable insights, enabling you to tailor your services to meet the specific needs of your target audience. Evaluate the competition and consider how you can differentiate your agency to attract clients.

Use the information gathered during your market research to inform your business plan. Your plan should include detailed financial projections, marketing strategies, operational procedures, and a clear understanding of your target market.

Remember, your care agency business plan is not a static document – it should be reviewed and revised regularly as your agency grows and evolves.

Here’s an example of a potential structure for your care agency business plan :

Remember, each care agency’s business plan will be unique to its own goals and aspirations. Customize your plan to accurately reflect your agency’s vision and mission.

Regulations and Training for a Care Agency

Before starting a care agency, it is crucial to familiarize yourself with the regulations and training requirements in order to provide quality care and ensure compliance. One of the key regulations is the appointment of a registered manager who will oversee the day-to-day operations of the agency and ensure adherence to the care agency regulations .

For a registered manager to lead your care agency, they must possess specific qualifications such as a QCF Level 5 Diploma in Leadership for Health and Social Care or a Registered Manager’s Award. These qualifications demonstrate their expertise in managing and providing high standards of care.

“The registered manager plays a pivotal role in maintaining compliance and upholding the agency’s commitment to quality care.”

In addition to having a registered manager, your care agency must also be registered with the appropriate regulatory body in your nation. In England, this regulatory body is the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which ensures that care providers meet essential standards of quality and safety. Registering with the CQC involves a thorough assessment of your agency’s policies, procedures, and care practices.

By adhering to care agency regulations and ensuring your staff receives appropriate training, you can establish a care agency that meets the highest standards of care delivery and inspires trust in clients and their families.

Key Training Requirements for Care Agency Staff

Aside from the registered manager, it is essential to invest in training for all care agency staff members to equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge to deliver exceptional care. Care agency training typically covers areas such as:

• Elderly care and support
• Personal care and hygiene
• Health and safety
• Medication management
• Communication skills
• Dementia care

Training programs can be sourced from various providers, including local colleges, specialized training centers, or accredited online courses. It is important to choose training programs that align with the specific needs of your care agency and provide comprehensive training materials and assessments.

The table above outlines some key training courses for care agency staff, including their durations and accrediting bodies. These courses provide essential skills and knowledge for delivering person-centered care and ensuring the safety and well-being of clients.

Financial Considerations for a Care Agency

Starting a care agency requires careful financial planning. It’s essential to understand the costs involved in setting up and running a successful care agency in the UK. From staff salaries and training to equipment and registration fees, having a solid financial plan is crucial for the sustainability of your business.

When starting a care agency, the initial costs can vary depending on several factors. On average, the costs range from £3000 to £15,000. Here are some of the key expenses to consider:

• Registration fees with regulatory bodies
• Office space and equipment
• Staff salaries and training
• Marketing and advertising
• Compliance and auditing

Funding Options:

Securing adequate funding is an important aspect of starting and growing your care agency. Consider exploring the following funding options:

• Government Grants : Research potential grants offered by local or national government bodies to support start-ups in the care industry.
• Charity Support : Some charitable organizations provide financial assistance to new care agencies. Research and reach out to relevant charities in your area.
• Partnerships with Healthcare Organizations : Collaborating with healthcare organizations can provide financial backing and valuable resources for your agency’s growth.
• Personal Investment : Utilize personal savings or seek financial support from family and friends to kickstart your care agency.

By considering these funding options and creating a comprehensive financial plan, you can ensure that your care agency has the necessary resources to thrive in the evolving healthcare market.

Case Study: Funding Breakdown for a Home Care Start-Up

Let’s take a closer look at a funding breakdown for a home care start-up in the UK:

It’s important to note that the figures provided are for demonstrative purposes only and may vary depending on various factors. Hence, conducting thorough research, seeking professional advice, and crafting a detailed business plan tailored to your specific circumstances is recommended.

By being financially prepared and strategically managing your resources, you can lay a strong foundation for your care agency’s long-term success.

Marketing and Attracting Care Workers

To attract care workers to your agency, it’s essential to develop a comprehensive recruitment strategy that highlights the unique aspects of your domiciliary care agency and the benefits of joining your team. Here are some key steps to consider:

• Create Job Listings: Advertise your open positions on relevant job boards and local community platforms. Clearly outline the roles, responsibilities, and qualifications required for each position. Emphasize any unique selling points your agency offers, such as flexible schedules or opportunities for career advancement.
• Establish Partnerships: Collaborate with care training programs, colleges, and universities to build partnerships. This can help attract newly qualified care workers who are seeking employment opportunities. Offer to provide work experience placements or discuss possible training collaborations.
• Competitive Salaries and Benefits: Research the market rates for care workers in your area and ensure that your agency offers competitive salaries in line with industry standards. Consider providing additional benefits such as paid leave, health insurance, or pension schemes to attract and retain top talent.
• Highlight Your Employer Brand: Develop a strong employer brand that reflects your agency’s values, work culture, and commitment to the well-being of care workers. Promote the positive aspects of working for your agency, such as a supportive work environment, career development opportunities, and ongoing training.

“By promoting a positive work culture and providing ongoing support and training, you can create an environment where care workers feel valued, motivated, and empowered to deliver exceptional care.”

Remember that attracting and retaining care workers is crucial for the success of your domiciliary care agency. By implementing effective marketing strategies and demonstrating your commitment to the well-being of your care workers, you can build a strong and dedicated team that provides high-quality care to your clients.

Securing Contracts and Growing Your Agency

Once your care agency is up and running, the next step is to focus on securing contracts with clients. This will not only provide a steady stream of income but also help you establish a strong reputation in the industry. To achieve this, it’s crucial to reach out to local authorities, healthcare providers, and social service organizations. These partnerships can open up opportunities for referrals and collaborations, ultimately leading to the growth of your agency.

Developing strong relationships with potential clients and their families is another key aspect of securing contracts. By providing high-quality and reliable care services, you can build trust and loyalty with your clients. Word-of-mouth recommendations and positive testimonials will further enhance your agency’s reputation and attract new clients.

Continually seeking opportunities for growth is essential for the long-term success of your agency. Consider expanding your services to cater to a wider range of client needs. For example, you could offer specialized care for individuals with specific medical conditions or introduce additional services such as respite care or dementia care. Expanding into new markets, such as different geographic areas or demographic segments, can also help you tap into untapped client bases and increase your agency’s reach.

Consistently delivering excellent care should be a priority for your agency. This not only ensures the satisfaction of your existing clients but also serves as a powerful marketing tool. Happy clients are more likely to recommend your services to others, leading to organic growth for your agency. Invest in ongoing training for your care staff to ensure they are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to provide exceptional care.

“Providing excellent care services is the foundation for securing contracts and growing your agency . By consistently exceeding client expectations, you can establish a strong reputation and position your agency as a trusted provider of quality care.”

Remember, securing contracts and growing your agency is an ongoing process that requires dedication and a proactive approach. Stay up to date with industry trends, maintain open lines of communication with clients and partners, and continuously adapt your services to meet the evolving needs of the care sector.

Potential Partnership Opportunities:

Technology and software for care agencies.

Utilizing technology and software can significantly streamline the operations of your care agency, enabling you to provide efficient and effective care services. Investing in home care software specifically designed for care agencies can revolutionize the way you manage your agency and improve the overall quality of care delivered to your clients.

One highly recommended option is the HomeCarePro software. With its comprehensive features and user-friendly interface, it caters to the unique needs and challenges faced by home care start-ups and established care agencies alike. HomeCarePro offers a range of functionalities to support scheduling, client management, billing, and record-keeping, providing a complete solution for care agency management.

By implementing HomeCarePro or similar care agency management software , you can automate and streamline administrative tasks, freeing up valuable time to focus on delivering compassionate care to your clients. With automated scheduling, you can efficiently assign the right caregivers to clients based on their specific needs and availability, ensuring optimal staffing levels and minimizing scheduling conflicts.

In addition to streamlining operations, care agency software also enables seamless communication between caregivers, clients, and their families. Through secure messaging features, caregivers can communicate important updates and share vital information, enhancing care coordination and improving the overall client experience.

The Benefits of Home Care Software:

• Efficient scheduling of caregivers and clients.
• Seamless communication and information sharing.
• Streamlined billing and invoicing processes.
• Real-time access to client records and care plans.
• Automated compliance with regulatory requirements.
• Enhanced transparency and accountability.

Implementing the right technology can revolutionize the way you run your care agency. Home care software , such as HomeCarePro , offers a comprehensive solution for managing your agency, enhancing communication, and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements. Streamline your operations, improve efficiency, and provide high-quality care by investing in the right software for your care agency.

Embrace the digital transformation of the care industry and unlock the full potential of your care agency with the power of home care software . Take your agency to new heights, simplify your processes, and provide exceptional care to your clients.

Starting a care agency in the UK is a challenging yet rewarding endeavor. With careful planning, adherence to regulations, and effective marketing and management strategies, you can establish a successful care agency and make a positive impact in the lives of those in need of care services.

When starting your care agency, prioritize the well-being of your clients. Provide compassionate care and tailor your services to meet their unique needs. Building strong relationships with your clients and their families will help you secure contracts and grow your agency.

Equally important is building a dedicated and passionate team of care workers. Treat your staff with respect, offer competitive salaries and benefits, and provide ongoing support and training. Creating a positive work culture will attract and retain top talent for your care agency.

By combining these elements, you can navigate the challenges of starting a care agency and position yourself for success. Remember, starting a care service requires commitment, but the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives is rewarding beyond measure.

What should be included in a business plan for a care agency?

A comprehensive business plan for a care agency should include information about the types of home care services you plan to provide, the level of care you can offer, and the demand for different types of care in your local area. It should also outline the financial aspects of your agency, including costs, funding options, and a sustainability plan.

What regulations and training requirements are needed to start a care agency?

To start a care agency, you will need a registered manager who has specific qualifications, such as a QCF Level 5 Diploma in Leadership for Health and Social Care or a Registered Manager’s Award. Your agency must also be registered with the appropriate regulatory body in your nation, such as the Care Quality Commission in England.

How much does it cost to start a care agency in the UK?

The costs of setting up a care agency can vary, but in the UK, it can range from £3000 to £15,000. This includes expenses such as staff salaries, training, equipment, and registration fees.

How can I attract care workers to my agency?

To attract care workers to your agency, you can develop a comprehensive recruitment strategy. This may include creating job listings, establishing partnerships with training programs, and offering competitive salaries and benefits. It’s important to highlight the unique selling points of your agency, such as flexible schedules or opportunities for career advancement.

How can I secure contracts with clients for my care agency?

To secure contracts with clients, you can reach out to local authorities, healthcare providers, and social service organizations to establish partnerships and secure referrals. Building strong relationships with potential clients and their families by providing high-quality, reliable care is also essential.

How can technology and software help in managing a care agency?

Utilizing technology and software designed specifically for care agencies can streamline operations. Home care software can assist with scheduling, client management, billing, and record-keeping. It can improve efficiency, enhance communication, and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.

How do I grow my care agency?

To grow your care agency, you can explore opportunities for expanding your services or entering new markets. Continuously deliver excellent care to build a strong reputation and attract new clients. Seek partnerships with healthcare organizations and actively market your agency to secure more contracts.

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Your Domiciliary Care Agency Business Plan: A Simple Guide

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If you’re considering setting up a care agency that supports people in their own homes, then the first task is to write a detailed business plan.

This step-by-step guide to creating a domiciliary care agency business plan will help you to design your dream business. It will include the following:

Step 1: Remind Yourself Why You’re Writing A Business Plan

Step 2: all about you, step 3: overview summary of your business, step 4: your services in more detail, step 5: deep dive on the market.

Step 6: Analyse Your Competition

Step 7: Your Plan for Marketing

Before you put pen to paper or open up your laptop to start typing, first remind yourself why a thorough, considered business plan is so important.

Starting a new business in any sector involves a lot of initial planning and consideration. Scrimp on this and your start-up could fail spectacularly. But put time, effort and attention into the early preparation and your business is more likely to succeed and grow exponentially.

A comprehensive business plan will not only help to ensure success in the long term, it will also aid you in securing funding, as it clearly demonstrates you have done your homework. It will direct your attention and assist you with organising your time. And, in the future, you can refer back to it to help you expand, or guide you back on track if you’ve lost focus.

With this in mind, make sure you put aside dedicated time to research, write and prepare your home care agency business plan . It will make all the difference in the long run.

Now that your mindset is in the right place, start writing your domiciliary care agency business plan . The first step is to introduce yourself.

A detailed section upfront about who you are and why you are qualified to run a business of this kind will reassure potential investors, as well as help you to sell yourself and your business to new clients.

This summary should include the following points:

1. Your career background and experience in the industry

If you, personally, don’t have extensive experience in the industry, then detail how you plan to expand your knowledge. Perhaps you have a mentor, or plan to employ someone who is an expert in the home healthcare field.

2. Your qualifications for adult care

There are many rules and industry regulations when it comes to providing care . And those providing support in people’s own homes must have the required qualifications.

England’s independent regulator of health and social care is called the Care Quality Commission (CQC) . All domiciliary care agencies must be registered, and it carries out regular inspections and enforces high standards. The details of the relevant qualifications required are noted on the website.

If you already have these qualifications, then ensure they’re listed in your business plan. And if you don’t, then include a plan for how you will train to acquire them. Or, if your strategy is to hire qualified staff, then ensure this is explained clearly.

You, and anyone you plan to employ, must have a Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check to ensure you’re eligible to work in healthcare.

3. Any existing connections you can utilise

Detail here any relationships you have, for example with suppliers or potential clients, that you can leverage for your business.

This section needs to showcase the most important and relevant points about you and your career history. Don’t be tempted to simply copy and paste your three-page CV here. That can be attached to the end of the business plan as an appendix, or supplied if requested.

This executive summary should clearly state what your business is, who you intend to target and how you plan to operate. You can go into more detail in supporting sections later on in the document.

This succinct statement of intent should include the following:

• The name of your business
• What services you plan to offer
• Who you plan to offer those services to (your target market)
• How you plan to operate and staff the business

This section should also contain:

Your business vision

A business vision is future-based and states, at the highest level, what a company wants to achieve in the long term. Its purpose is to inspire the leadership and employees, rather than customers, and give a purpose and meaning to the organisation. It should encapsulate where your business is going and be aspirational.

Business vision statements can feel lofty, but they should be meaningful. A famous example is Disney’s vision ‘to make people happy’.

Your mission statement

This differs from the vision in that it’s all about what you’re doing right now. A mission statement is present-based and should demonstrate how you plan to fulfil your vision. It should be actionable.

For example, if your vision is to ‘make people happy in their old-age’ then your mission might be: ‘by providing around-the-clock high-quality and affordable care to the elderly in their own homes in the city of xxx’.

SWOT analysis

A SWOT analysis details your business’ strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

In the strengths section you can detail your unique selling points and what sets you apart from your competition.

Break down your business weaknesses, such as low public awareness, recruitment difficulties or client retention.

The opportunities can highlight the number of potential customers in your target location, or other areas that you can expand to. You can illustrate your plans for future growth by using SMART goals which are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely.

And the threats could include competition, change in government policies meaning expensive re-training or economic downtown impacting the elderly’s spending habits.

How you plan to finance your business

Detail here how you will fund the start-up investment required to launch your new business. Create a detailed budget which includes all the expected expenditures to get up and running. This could include premises rent, utilities bills, website development, travel, insurance, printing business cards, training etc.

Note down if you have already secured funding, for example from personal savings or private loans from family and friends, and what investment you still require. Explain what additional investment or loans you might also require and where / how you plan to acquire these, such as loans from banks or specialist providers.

This section should also include sales forecasts for the first three years, as well as any time period breakdown you would like to include (e.g. monthly, quarterly etc.). You’ll need to project what sales you need to make to cover your regular outgoings (e.g. monthly expenses), and make a profit.

Following your overview summary, this section of your domiciliary care agency business plan should go into depth about your business’ services.

This can include:

The home care services you plan to offer

For example, nursing, companionship, domestic or housekeeping, personal care or emergency care. It might also include mental health counselling or assisting with home medication management.

How you’ll carry out the services

Such as 30-minute appointments, eight-hour shifts, 24-hour live-in care or emergency call outs.

How much the services will cost you to deliver

Detail here the equipment, training, travel, business software etc. that you require to operate effectively.

Pricing strategy

This strategy includes the rate card prices you plan to charge for all your services. Include whether you will offer payment plans, contracts or pay-as-you-go hourly billing. What the payment options will be (e.g. cash, Direct Debit, mobile card machine) and any discounts for repeat business or longer-term contracts.

Sales strategy

The sales strategy determines how you’ll sell these services to customers. For example, customers can book a package of home care visits online through your website, in-person at a physical office, or over the phone etc.

Legal and insurance requirements

As noted above, the home care industry is strictly regulated. You can’t start operating until you’re registered with the CQC and staff have the appropriate qualifications.

Also detail the insurance your business will require to be able to care for clients in their own homes, administer medication and be responsible for their wellbeing.

Essential procedures and policies you’ll put in place

The CQC looks for specific procedures and policies to ensure a high standard of governance.

These could include a grievance policy, a confidentiality policy, a procedure on bullying or harassment, as well as specific policies on showering and bathing clients. You should also consider application forms for new customers, employment contracts and cancellation procedures.

Growth potential for your services

This can include your plans to expand into new locations, upsell or cross-sell different services to existing clients as well as signing up clients to annual contracts.

Following the top-line overview on your target market in your summary, this section takes a deep dive on your ideal customers.

This market evaluation can be pulled together from desk research including online searches and by consuming media such as newspapers. You can also undertake field research in the form of interviewing your potential customers, conducting questionnaires and gathering first-hand feedback on your proposed offering.

This section will help strengthen your home care agency business plan with quotes and soundbites, statistics from credible sources and industry forecasts.

Incorporate the following:

• General standing of the UK domiciliary care market, predictions for growth, industry forecasts
• Who your target customers are e.g. age, gender, location, needs and desires, lifestyle and hobbies etc.
• How many of these customers will your business potentially be able to reach
• Any existing relationships with these target customers that you can leverage
• Why will these customers buy your services over the competition

Step 6: Analyse Your Competition  

You might have touched upon your competition in the ‘threats’ part of your SWOT analysis, however this part of your home care agency business plan will further explore your competitors.

As with your market research, scrutinising your competitors will involve desk and field research. By getting out and about in the community you plan to target, you’ll be able to identify other similar companies that operate in the same location. They might advertise in local media or on prominent billboards, or they could have signage outside their offices or branded vehicles.

Evaluate your competition by:

• identifying direct competition to your business and map out their strengths, weakness and differences (e.g. operating in the same target geography, offering the same services, offering similar prices etc.)
• identifying indirect competition (e.g. residential care homes or nursing homes) and identify their strengths and weaknesses
• mapping out how you plan to differentiate from this competition

Having a thorough understanding of your competition will enable you to see clearly any ‘gaps’ e.g. how your business can stand out from the crowd; what services aren’t currently being offered; what price points aren’t available; and what target customers’ needs aren’t being met.

A marketing strategy is an important part of your domiciliary care agency business plan . Effective marketing will target the right audience at the appropriate time and via the most relevant channels. This will ensure that you have customers flocking to your new business.

Your strategy should detail:

• any tasks that need to be completed before marketing begins e.g. creating a logo, setting up a website and business phone number etc.
• when you plan to promote your business, for example during the launch period, and then ongoing activity
• what tactics you plan to use, e.g. advertising, leaflet drops, website, branded vehicles etc.
• proposed budget for marketing activity

You can also detail incentive schemes for clients to prompt word of mouth, and any other ways you plan to promote your business, such as networking.

Write Your Home Care Agency Business Plan Today

Launching a new business takes careful consideration. Dedicating time and focus to creating a comprehensive business plan will ensure your domiciliary care agency booms rather than goes bust.

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CARE HOME BUSINESS PLAN: Template & Best Easy Guide in 2023

• by Kenechukwu Muoghalu
• August 14, 2023
• No comments
• 6 minute read

Table of Contents Hide

What is a care home business, why do i need a care home business plan, #1. remind yourself why you need a plan, #2. a detailed section about yourself, #3. executive summary, #4. company summary, #5. market analysis, #6. management team, #7. financial plan, care home business plan uk template, need to finish your care home business plan in 1 day, how much profit do care homes make in the uk, who should run a care home, what should care homes provide.

Whether you run an agency or a personal care home business, you will need a plan for it to flourish. Starting a care home business can be rewarding, but don’t forget that it comes with hefty responsibilities. These tasks can be lifted off your shoulders when you have a standby plan. To make the journey easier, this article has an example template that can help you formulate a UK care home business plan. This sample template for your business plan covers either medical or non-medical home care. 

If these processes sound overwhelming already, you can also choose to stick with our ready-made care home business plan . 

A clear example of a care home business involves medical and non-medical professional caregivers offering care and assistance to people. Home health care covers a wide range of services that can differ from one patient to the next. Most of the time, care home services may include physical therapy, speech therapy, or skilled nursing. 

A care home business can also cover assisting older adults with normal activities like bathing, dressing up, and eating. In summary, a care home refers to medical treatment or assistive care for patients who do not need hospitalization or facility care but do need help to live safely at home. 

Operating a care home business can be daunting, especially with the current hit of that industry in the UK. This is why you need a plan. A plan will be responsible for nurturing the vision of your business while convincing lenders and investors that you have a viable business concept. This article will be all you need to create one, and in any case, if you need any extra help, our ready-made care home business plan would go a long way. 

How to Write a Care Home Business Plan

Writing a business plan requires some procedures because, for a business plan to convert and serve its purpose, it must be well composed. These procedures include: 

Before you start writing your business plan, you will need to be mentally ready. Remind yourself why you need a business plan for your home care agency. Thorough preparation is important because when you fail to plan, you will plan to fail. You will need to put enough time, effort, and attention into the plan. 

A detailed business plan for your home care agency will not just help you attain success in the long term, it will also secure some funding for your business. 

This section of your business plan requires that you showcase the most relevant points about you and your career history. Introduce yourself and tell your readers why you are qualified to run this form of business. To make things more explicit, you can include your career background and experience in the care home industry. If in any case, you do not have the required experience, inform your reader of how you intend on gaining it.

List your UK qualifications, which can range from Care Quality Commission (CQC) to Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). 

The purpose of the executive summary for your home care agency business plan is to give a brief description of your business. Most readers and investors go to this section because they expect you to give concise details on what your business is all about. It is best to keep this section simple and engaging. You can write your business name and location and also include your business’s legal structure. Include who your actual target market is and your mission statement. This section is usually the first to appear and the last to be written.

In the company summary for your homecare agency business plan, you will need to go into depth about your business services. Answer some questions that would give your readers more information about your business. Your pricing strategy, sales strategy, legal requirements, and growth potential, among others, should be included in this section of your business plan. Under this section, you should also include the type of services you offer. There is some care home business example you will need to choose from to make your plan stand out. 

One sample for your care home business plan is non-medical home care, while the other is a medical care home. The need for this motive is to define your services to enable you to concentrate on a specific market. If the sample business plan you want to go for is non-medical home care, then you should be aware of the services you will be expected to offer. You will also need to conduct thorough research on them before choosing one example of the care home business for your plan. 

The market analysis section should be about the information you got from your thorough research of the industry. The importance of this section is to help you understand the intentions of the market. In this section of your care home business plan, you can include your market area, where you will have to identify your primary and secondary markets. You can also include a target demographic, an overview of your competitors, and a demand analysis in your market analysis section. 

For the management team section of your home care agency business plan, you will need to include your business’s organizational team. Before a business venture can succeed, the operational team needs to be efficient. While writing this section, you can include an organizational chart, where you will have to describe your key employees. You can also include their work experience and specific roles in the industry. 

This is mostly the final part of your business plan, so you will need to make it perfect. It should contain some financial statements like your historical financial data, income statements, and organizational budgets. If, in any case, you didn’t complete your market analysis, then it will be hard to manoeuvre through this section. This is because you will need to include some information that only market research can provide. 

Aside from having a detailed procedure for composing the UK care home business plan, you will also need an example template. The essence of this template checklist is to enable you to follow due processes that can guide your steps while setting up a care home. Setting up a care home business can be daunting, but a template will always guide your tracks and help you stay in line. Let’s look at some of these necessary steps that shouldn’t be left out. 

• Choose a starting point
• Create a care home business plan
• Pick a business name
• Get the necessary qualifications and certifications
• Staffing and management
• Get insurance
• Buy supplies
• Promote your business

How would you feel when I tell you that you can finish up your business plan today? Yes, it is highly possible. 

The stress of writing a business plan is understandable, especially when you find it hard to fill out each section. That is why we made it easier by offering you a ready-made care home business plan . 

Businessyield Consult has helped over a thousand entrepreneurs compose a winning business plan. Grab a copy of your business plan here and share your success story with us. 

The increasing number of elderly members of society has led to an increase in the demand for care homes. Meanwhile, getting hold of a new business requires careful consideration and commitment. A care home business even requires more effort, which is why it is wise to start with a business plan. Having a working business plan will spare you from having to handle your business alone. It will serve as a companion while allowing you to map out your business goals and help you achieve those goals as well. 

When you own a care home business, you can make up to 35 to 40 per cent of profits from fees your clients get to pay. You can make up to £250 from a bed per week and will make more profits from other services you render to your clients. 

A care home business comes with responsibilities and not everyone can handle them. To make it in the care home business, you must have compassion and a genuine desire to help the lives of your clients and not just make profits. To successfully run a care home, you will need to have the right attitude. 

A care home should be able to provide accommodation, attention, respect, care and support for any customer that needs help with managing their daily life. As a home care provider, the services you render will be based on an individual’s needs. 

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Kenechukwu Muoghalu

Kenny, an accomplished business writer with a decade of experience, excels in translating intricate industry insights into engaging articles. Her passion revolves around distilling the latest trends, offering actionable advice, and nurturing a comprehensive understanding of the business landscape. With a proven track record of delivering insightful content, Kenny is dedicated to empowering her readers with the knowledge needed to thrive in the dynamic and ever-evolving world of business.

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Care Agency Business Plan

March 20, 2023.

Starting your own Care Agency in the UK isn’t easy, but having a properly developed business plan will help you achieve success. The business plan represents your ability to run your agency considering the requirements of your prospective service users, the strengths of your Care Agency, and how your business will sustain itself if you encounter any adversities. Although the business plans can vary depending on the purpose of the plan, there are some common steps to creating a Care Agency Business Plan, including the following:

Top 5 Steps to Consider for a Care Agency Business Plan!

Step 1: consider the purpose of your business plan.

Starting a new business in any sector requires a lot of planning and consideration. Still, for Care Agencies, you need to put some more thought into it as the nature of the service comes with various legislative guidance and standards. So, your business plan should reflect that your Care Agency has the resources and policies to adhere to the directions.

A comprehensive business plan will not only help to ensure success in the long term, but it will also aid you in securing funding, as it demonstrates that you have done your homework. Suppose you need to develop a business plan to win a tender; the business plan must highlight how you will meet the tender’s requirements and maintain the tendering organisation’s values. It will direct your attention and assist you with organising your time. And, in the future, you can refer to it to help you expand or guide you back on track if you’ve lost focus.

A well-researched and concise business plan will help you organise the elements needed into a strategy that you can use to accumulate the necessary funds to run your business and provide you with a clear road map to follow for the lifespan of your business.

Step 2: All About You

Once you have decided how you will use the business plan, the next step is to introduce yourself. A summary of your business and a detailed section about who you are and why you are qualified to run a Care Agency will reassure potential investors and help you sell your business to potential service users.

The summary should include the following points:

• Your career background and experience in the industry: Relevant industry experiences enrich a business plan and paint a picture of how you will provide service to prospective clients with similar requirements. If you don’t have extensive industry experience, you can explain how you plan to expand your knowledge. Perhaps you have a mentor or plan to employ an expert in the Care Agency field.
• Your qualifications for providing care: There are many rules and industry regulations for operating Care Agencies. Staff providing care to the service users must often have specific capabilities. It is essential to mention the degrees, training, and accreditations your care staff already have or will obtain upon being recruited. England’s independent health and social care regulator is the  Care Quality Commission (CQC) . All care agencies must be registered, regularly inspect, and enforce high standards. CQC notes the details of the relevant qualifications required on its website. If you already have these qualifications, list them in your business plan. And if you don’t, then include a plan for training to acquire them. If your strategy is hiring qualified staff, explain this clearly. You, and anyone you plan to employ, must have a  Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check to ensure you’re eligible to work in healthcare.
• Feedback from existing clients: Detail here any relationships you have, for example, with suppliers or potential clients, that you can leverage for your business. This section must showcase the most important and relevant points about you and your career history. Testimonials of satisfied clients,

Step 3: Overview of Your Business

The overview of your business should include what services you plan to offer, who you plan to provide these services to and how you plan to operate. You must have your vision and mission statement where the vision statement states the long-term goal of your business, and the mission statement represents how you will fulfil those visions. Including the analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) for starting or establishing or expanding your business will convey the message of your commitment to continuous improvement.

If you already have an operation, you can explain how you will expand your operation considering the geographic and demographic factors. For example, you can mention your plan for recruiting staff from the target area and how you will transfer the resources such as IT support and the establishment of local offices. If you plan to use the business plan for a tender requiring specific services, including similar service examples and how you provided those services will reassure your future clients.

Step 4: Projecting your revenues

Planning and projecting the financial figures to approximate what you make each year is crucial to building a solid business plan. The projection of revenue sections should include the followings:

• The business plan should include details about how to fund the Care Agency investment required to launch or expand your business. A detailed budget, including all the expected expenditures such as premises rent, utility bills, website development, travel insurance, and training, paints a picture of a robust financial strategy.
• The business plan should clearly state what investments you will still require if you have secured funding, such as personal savings or private loans from family and friends. Explain what additional investment or loans you might also need and how you plan to acquire these, such as loans from banks or specialist providers.
• This section should also include sales forecasts for the first three years and the breakdown you want to specify (monthly, quarterly, etc.). You’ll need to project what sales you must make to cover your regular outgoings (e.g., monthly expenses) and make a profit.
• In this section, you might include how you will operate your business during adverse situations that require contingency plans. For example, you can mention your reserve budget for rainy days, such as a pandemic.

Step 5: Researching your competition

Market research involving both desk and field research will enable you to identify similar companies that operate in the exact location or provide services to the same target group of service users. You can analyse your competition by:

• Mapping out your strength, weakness, and differences in the direct competitions
• Identifying indirect competition (Care Agencies who currently offer different services but can provide the services you are willing to present).
• Highlighting how you plan to stand out in the market

Need help with developing a business plan?

Now you know about Business Plans, you may wonder how we can help you.

At Hudson, we specialise in writing bespoke business plans for Care Agencies for your marketing endeavour or as a part of the tender response. If you want an outsourced approach to writing a business plan for your care agency, our Succeed division is here to help. Our  Bid Management Consultants have over 60 years of experience in bid writing and an 87% success rate, allowing us to create a business plan funders like to see.

Need Tender Writing Help?

Tender writing.

Once you’ve found the perfect bid for your business,  send it  our way. Our  Bid Writers  can take care of the whole thing for you they’ll even submit it on your behalf. They’ll let you know what they need from you, providing you with a full  Tender Writing  breakdown.

Tender Ready

Our  Tender Ready  4-week programme is perfect for businesses that have never tendered before. A Bid Writer will work with you to ensure you have everything in place to tender successfully. Tender Ready offers your business:

• A 12-month subscription to one  Hudson Discover
• Access to Global Bid Directors and Senior Bidding Professionals.
• An Organisation-wide Bid library, including 3  case studies , 5 CVs and policies.
• Additional flexible benefits.

Tender Improvement

If you’ve been tendering but aren’t seeing success from your current efforts, our  Tender Improvement  package can help. Our Bid Team will assess your previous responses and  tender documents . They will work with you to improve for future submissions. This package includes a 12-month subscription to a Hudson Discover portal and additional tendering development services.

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written your tender response and need it double-checked for errors, Tender Mentor can help. A Bid Writer will proofread your work for any inconsistencies, grammar, or spelling mistakes. They will also ensure it’s in line with the specification before you submit it. This is a great way of improving your skills and understanding of how to polish your tender.

Additional support:

Do you only require assistance with PQQs or SQs? We can help!

Submit the relevant information regarding the work you need, and we will provide a quote for the work agreed upon.

We provide support at all levels of the bid writing process, so if you simply need it proofread before you submit it, we can also help with that!

Discover Elite

Need help finding healthcare tenders ? At Hudson, we can help you find the right tenders for your business through our sector-specific portals!

Upgrading to Discover Elite can optimise your tendering efforts!

Our two new time-saving tools can improve competitor awareness and success rate when bidding for a contract:

The Ultimate Time Save Package (for those on the go!)

• Five tender breakdowns per month.
• Annual subscription to two sector-specific portals.
• Dedicated account manager.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package

• All of the above.
• Seven tender breakdowns per month.
• Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager (minimum five years experience). Our Global Bid Director will manage the bid strategy.

Our other divisions:

Wanting to impress a buyer? Our creative content agency Vocal is always on hand to help!

Our Vocal team are never afraid to be heard – we’re a loud bunch!

From micro-businesses to large organisations, we provide ways to make your business stand out from the crowd. We can transform your bid into a professionally designed tender document!

Vocal specialises in:

• Copywriting
• Illustration

Our online virtual learning environment for Education, Enterprise and Home Learners is currently being used to power our platforms – Tender VLE and Procure VLE (Coming soon).

We believe in learning at your own pace, wherever you are!

Find more helpful tips and advice in our blogs. We cover topics including:

How to prepare your graphic design business plan.

• How to Write a Good Business Plan: 7 Tips from the Experts
• Cleaning Services Business Plan: Explained 

How to Make a Business Plan Step by Step

How to write up a business plan: 6 tips you need to know.

• How to Prepare a Business Plan in 8 Steps

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Contact a consultant, domiciliary care business plan, cleaning services business plan: explained.

• Get Help Writing a Business Plan from the Experts!

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How To Start A Domiciliary Care Business

Kurt Graver June 5, 2022 Business Start-up Advice

Providing compassionate in-home care and connecting healthcare facilities with qualified temporary workers are noble pursuits. But launching these startups comes with hurdles. This comprehensive guide breaks down everything you need to know to get your care business up and running successfully.

Navigating Legal Requirements and Licensing

Unlike starting many businesses, you can’t just open your doors and begin operating a domiciliary care service in the UK. Strict regulations rightfully protect vulnerable people receiving home care. 

To legally provide domiciliary care in England, you must register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) [1]. The application process involves submitting details on:

• Your proposed services
• Business Location
• Staff qualifications 
• Policies and procedures

Once submitted, the CQC will thoroughly review your application and likely inspect your business in person. You’ll also need CQC-approved Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks for all staff to show you can legally work with at-risk adults.

After approval, you must pay an annual fee to maintain CQC registration. They’ll continue evaluating your business through inspections and surveys to ensure you meet essential standards. Having robust systems for delivering quality, personalised care is crucial.

Healthcare staffing agencies don’t require CQC registration. But you still need liability insurance, ironclad contracts, and rigorous candidate screening. We’ll cover staffing specifics later.

Selecting the Right Business Structure

Consider if you want to operate as a sole trader, partnership, or limited company. 

Sole traders have simpler tax and accounting requirements but face unlimited personal liability. Partnerships allow the sharing of responsibilities and complementary skills between co-owners. 

Limited companies separate your personal assets from the business but require more reporting. Many care startups opt for limited company status to limit personal risk. 

Just make sure you have solid partnership agreements or corporate governance procedures in place if you choose a partnership or limited company.

Understanding the Costs

Startup costs vary, but expect to budget around £3,000-£5,000 initially. Big expenses when launching your care business include:

• Incorporation fees – Around £100-£200 to formally create a company
• Office space – Budget £200-£500 monthly for a basic office if needed
• Equipment – A computer, phone, uniforms, medical supplies, etc. £1,000-£2,000 
• Website – £500-£1,500 for a professional site with SEO optimisation
• Staff – Salaries, training, background checks. At least £2,000/month 
• Insurance – £1,000-£2,000 annually for liability coverage
• Marketing – £500-£2,000 for branding, promotional materials, advertising, etc.

Remember ongoing costs like CQC fees, accountants, legal advice, supplies, training, etc. Be realistic with financial projections and seek angel investors or small business loans if needed.

Building Your Care Team

Quality patient care starts with your staff. Legally, a domiciliary care manager must have qualifications like the QCF Level 5 Diploma in Leadership for Health and Social Care [2]. Frontline caregivers need training like:

• Moving and Handling Certificate 
• Health and Safety Certificate
• Care Certificate [3]
• First Aid Certificate 
• Mental Health First Aid Certificate

Conduct thorough interviews, check references, and vet candidates’ suitability. Implement a robust induction covering your policies, procedures, training, and code of ethics.

For a staffing agency, strong recruitment using platforms like Indeed is essential to build your pool of qualified nurses, carers, therapists, etc. Verify credentials, qualifications, and suitability. 

Ensure you have payroll and HR systems to handle scheduling, timesheets, and payments and stay legally compliant.

Crafting Customised Care Plans 

Central to quality domiciliary care is developing personalised care plans for each patient, evaluating their:

• Mobility and physical needs
• Healthcare conditions 
• Mental health and cognition
• Nutrition requirements
• Personal preferences
• Family dynamics

Care plans should outline schedules, medications, therapies, activities, and goals. Review regularly and update as needs evolve. Detailed care plans combined with regular training help ensure consistent, quality care.

Getting Clients through the Door

Marketing is essential for any new business. With care startups, focus on:

• Networking – Attend local events to meet community partners and referral sources.
• Website – Create an informative site that ranks high in search engines.
• Social media – Share your mission, team, and news on platforms like Facebook.
• Print materials – Well-designed brochures, flyers, and direct mail can help spread the word.  
• Referrals – Ask happy customers, healthcare providers, and community groups to recommend you.
• Online reviews – Encourage positive feedback on sites like Google, Facebook, and CareAdviser.

For staffing agencies, market directly to care homes, hospitals, clinics, and other facilities needing temporary workers. Build relationships with HR contacts and demonstrate how you can fill urgent staffing needs.

Overcoming Key Startup Hurdles

While passion for caring for others may be your inspiration, the realities of entrepreneurship present challenges. Be ready to navigate hurdles like:

Identifying the Right Opportunities – Carefully research your local market, regulatory environment, competitive landscape, and demographic needs to identify the right services to offer. Can you fill an unmet homecare need or provide staffing support others aren’t?

Securing Startup Funding – Many startups fail because they run out of money. Realistically project costs and seek loans or investors if needed. Consider crowdfunding sites and small business grants. Bootstrapping requires very lean operations.

Bridging Knowledge Gaps – If you lack experience in healthcare, bring on partners or advisors with clinical expertise. Invest in training. Learn regulations inside and out.

Managing Time and Stress – Entrepreneurship involves long hours and wearing many hats. Set boundaries and practice self-care to avoid burnout. Outsource what you can.

Adapting to Changing Conditions – Healthcare is ever-evolving. Stay poised to adjust to funding changes, rising costs, or pandemic response measures.

With proper planning and support, these hurdles are surmountable on the path to success.

Launch Checklist

Follow this launch checklist to get your care business up and running smoothly:

6 Months Before Launch:

• Choose a business structure  
• Research licensing requirements and local opportunities
• Start designing your brand, website, and marketing materials

3 Months Before Launch:

• Officially register your company and apply for CQC licensing
• Open a business bank account and implement accounting software 
• Secure office space if needed
• Finalise policies, procedures, care plans, consent forms, etc.
• Start recruiting and vetting staff.

1 Month Before Launch:

• Confirm CQC registration and complete staff onboarding 
• Finalise insurance, equipment, and other necessities
• Launch marketing efforts and start taking client inquiries
• Revisit financial projections and tweak as needed

Keys to Long-Term Success

Launching a domiciliary care or healthcare staffing startup has challenges. But with proper planning, an amazing team, and dedication to compassionate care, you can build a thriving business.

Remember, word of mouth is powerful – focus on delivering 5-star care and growing your reputation one happy client at a time. Stay resilient, learn from mistakes, and continue improving. You’ve got this!

With this advice, it’s time to make your dream of starting a care business in the UK a reality. You have the power to provide comfort and independence to those needing support. Here’s to changing lives while also growing a sustainable enterprise. Now go forth and care!

The next step is to develop a solid business plan to submit to the CQC and raise funding. You can either use our business plan template to write your own business plan, or we can help you write your business plan using our business plan writing service .

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Oliver Brown

Crafting a Business Plan for UK Health and Social Care Services: A Comprehensive Guide

In the evolving landscape of UK Health and Social Care, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) mandates a structured approach to business planning. A robust business plan is essential for ensuring compliance with Regulation 17: Good Governance. This guide outlines the key components of a business plan tailored to the needs of health and social care providers, aiming to streamline the process in alignment with CQC requirements. Utilising this framework alongside our Template and Examples will empower you to craft a comprehensive plan that not only meets the New Registration Requirements but also positions your venture for success.

Your Business At A Glance

Begin with a snapshot of your business, capturing the essence of your service. Incorporate:

• Logo and Brand Identity : The visual representation of your care service.
• Contact Information : Business name, address, and how to reach you.
• Business Structure : Are you an individual, partnership, or an organisation? Include registration details if you’re a limited company.
• Leadership Profiles : Introduce the team, highlighting their qualifications and experience in care.
• Organisational Structure : Detail the management framework, reflecting on your governance policy.

Section 1: Executive Summary

This section serves as the cornerstone of your business plan, providing a snapshot that answers the following:

• Purpose : Why you’re launching this service.
• Target Audience : Who will benefit from your service.
• Service Delivery : The practicalities of your offerings.
• Team Composition : Who’s involved and their roles.
• Resource Allocation : Staffing needs and how you’ll meet them.
• Financial Overview : Covering cost management, pricing strategies, and projected financial milestones for the initial two years.

Section 2: Products and Services

Here, delineate the services you’re set to offer, ensuring alignment with your application and Statement of Purpose . Discuss:

• Service Portfolio : A detailed look at your offerings.
• Management and Delivery : How you’ll organise and manage service provision.

Section 3: Marketing Strategy and Analysis

Understanding and engaging your market is crucial. This section should:

• Identify Demand : How you’ve gauged the need for your services.
• Strategic Alignment : Ensure your plans resonate with national and local health care strategies.
• Engagement : Your interaction with local authorities and NHS commissioners.
• Personal Influence : Reflect on how personal experiences shape your service.
• Contractual Aspirations : Potential tenders and applications for approved lists.

Section 4: Financial Planning for Business Plan

Financial sustainability is key. Address:

• Income Streams : Projected revenue sources and pricing strategies.
• Expenditures : Comprehensive breakdown of operational costs, including premises, equipment, administrative services, and staffing.

Section 5: Budgets and Financial Forecasts

Offer a clear financial projection for the first two years, detailing:

• Summary : An overview of income, outgoings, and net profit/loss.
• Forecast Details : Break down income streams and expenditures, providing a granular view of your financial landscape.

Support your plan with additional documents such as CVs of your management team, enhancing the credibility and depth of your proposal.

This guide is designed to ensure your business plan not only fulfills regulatory requirements but also articulates a clear, sustainable vision for providing health and social care services. By addressing each section with detailed, strategic insights, you’ll set a solid foundation for your venture’s success in the competitive UK market.

Launching A Nursing Agency

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Business Startup – Care Agency Package

Are you planning on starting a domiciliary care agency / homecare business.

If the answer to the above question is YES, then our Business Start Up Package is the ideal solution to help you establish your new domiciliary service.

W&P understands the complexities and challenges of starting up a Health and Social Homecare business and that’s why we developed the Care Agency Start-up Package to provide a one stop shop of all the essential tools needed to set up and run a care agency.  The Start Up package has been designed to be an integral part of helping you to achieve success. Our aim is to help you realise your care business objectives from inception through cqc registration and beyond.

What’s included in the Domiciliary Business Startup Packages

Standard Package

£1200 + vat

Enhanced Package

£1600 + vat

Domiciliary Care Policies & Procedures

(£995.00 + vat when purchased separately)

The Domiciliary Care Policies include over 130 essential policies for your Care Agency Business.  Branded with your company name, logo and contact details .

W&P’s dedicated inhouse compliance and policy team of professionals research and write all polices to ensure they meet  CQC  regulatory, legislative and good practice guidance within the Health and Social Care sector.

[ full details ]

Recruitment & Personnel Form Templates

(£105.00 + vat when purchased separately)

All you will need to get started Recruiting and Selecting staff for your care agency.

The forms provide evidence for  CQC  requirements under Schedule 3.

They include over 20 form templates including, Spot Checks, Supervision and Appraisal Records, Recruitment Forms, Letter templates and many more.

Assessment & Care Planning Templates

(£99.00 + vat when purchased separately)

The set includes… Assessment Assessment of Need About me

Care Planning Care Plan Template Care Review Template Consent to Care and Support Diabetic Care and Support Plan Type 1 Diabetes Diabetic Care and Support Plan Type 2 … plus many more.

[ full details]

Quality Assurance & Audit Templates

(£125.00 + vat when purchased separately)

The set includes…

Accident and Incident Reports Care and Support Plan Audit Tool Dignity Audit Hoist & Sling Audit Infection Control Audit Medication Audit Tool Personnel Audit Tool Pressure Area Audit Tool Safeguarding Audit Tool Quality Audit Questionnaires Annual Quality Audit Questionnaire First Response Quality Audit Questionnaire … plus many more.

Health & Safety and Risk Assessment Templates

The set includes 19 Risk Assessment Templates including…

Risk Assessment: Choking Risk Assessment: COSHH Risk Assessment: Diabetes Risk Assessment: Falls Risk Assessment : Financial Abuse Risk Assessment: Infection Control & Cleanliness Risk Assessment: Lone Workers Reporting Log Risk Assessment – Lone Worker Hazard Checklist for Lone Working … plus many more.

Medication Management Form Templates

The Management of Medicines is now an area of activity that needs to be at the core of your care needs assessment process. These Management of Medicines forms assist in this process and provide a framework which should be regularly reviewed and amended as events unfold.

Care Agency Staff Handbook

(£115.00 + vat when purchased separately)

The Care Agency Staff Handbook assists you in clearly explaining your expectations for your employees, and describes what they can expect from your organisation. It describes your legal obligations as an employer, and your employees’ rights.

Business Plan Template

(£49.99 + vat when purchased separately)

It is now a requirement to submit a business plan with your CQC application. The Business Plan Template is structured in accordance with CQC requirements including, Executive Summary, who is responsible for the plan, operations, finance, sales, market research and much more. You cannot submit your application without a completed business plan.

Policy & Procedure Update Service

(Free for the first year)

The Care Agency Business Package includes a years of Policy Updates free of charge.

W&P’s policy and compliance team constantly scan and review all the statutory websites and regulatory publications to track the very latest developments in the Health & Social Care Sector. We then assimilate all the data collected and update the policies and procedures. After the first year of free updates you can choose to renew the update service, or not. The update service is just £225 (exc vat) per year after the first free year of updates.

Financial Viability Form

CQC wants to see that your business has the necessary working capital to sustain itself during the initial months of trading. For convenience we have included a copy of the CQC’s template, the template must be completed and signed by a financial professional. You cannot submit your application without a signed Financial Viability Form.

Adult Safeguarding Training Pack

These comprehensive training packs provide evidence for the CQC compliance requirements, evidence for the Care Certificate and evidence for the Diplomas in Health and Social Care (RQF). They are a flexible and affordable training solution, one purchase of any title allows you to train as many learners as you require which means no ongoing License or usage fees.

Care Certificate Training Pack

(£416.00 + vat when purchased separately)

W&P’s Care Certificate pack has been designed to be easy to follow and accessible for both the trainer and the trainee. Written by users for users, we have made our packs more manageable by dividing the core units into 3 x 1 month sections making modular learning much easier.

Bespoke Business Support

(£75.00 +vat per hr when purchased separately)

Our bespoke business support is tailored to the needs of your business to ensure it is relevant and useful tool for organisation. It can be used to support in helping complete the application form for CQC registration, preparing for the first visit after application and support with being ready to start trading as an organisation in health and social care. The support can be centred on regulatory requirements or tailored to your specific needs.

Business Contingency Bundle

(£75.00 + vat when purchased separately)

The Business Contingency Bundle includes the following templates; Business Continuity Plan, Business Contingency Communication Record, Business Contingency Plan Revision Record, Business Contingency Testing Record, Business Contingency Data Tracker and a IT/Data Systems Spec Sheet.

Train the Trainer Pack

(£299.00 + vat when purchased separately)

This Training Pack is an in depth, step by step, knowledge led learning course which will enable good In-House Training to become a reality. It covers all aspects of good training practice, with practical tips on how to make learning interesting and fun whilst getting the learning across to all types of people and learning styles.

Quality Management Bundle

The Quality Management Bundle includes the following templates; Corrective & Preventive Action Report, Internal Audit Report, Internal Quality Audit, Management Review Agenda and a Non Conformance Register.

Staff Training Matrix

(£22.00 + vat when purchased separately)

A detailed training matrix which covers management and care staff and includes an induction process example for customers to edit to reflect their own induction methods. The training matrix does not need to be completed but you do need to submit the blank template with your application.

Does your package include support with the completion of my CQC registration application? Yes, we act as mentors so a “doing with” as opposed to a “doing for” approach. We do not complete the application for you but act as mentors to guide you through the process. This is important because the registration inspector uses the information to plan the fit person interview and remembering your own words is much easier than remembering someone else’s.

Does your package include help with preparing for my CQC interview? Yes, business support hours are included in both packages.

Does the Care Agency Package include a Business Plan Template? Yes, in the enhanced package.

Does the Care Agency Package include a Training Matrix? Yes, in the enhanced package.

Does the Business Startup Package include a Statement of Purpose Template? Yes, in both packages.

Does the Care Agency Package include financial projection guidance? Yes, in both packages.

How much is the Business Startup Package?

The Care Agency Start-up packages are excellent, cost effective solutions for starting up your business.

Why Choose W&P’s Care Agency Package

The Start up Team of Advisors have over 100 years of experience in the Adult Care Sector as owners, directors and managers of services. Our experience and knowledge of the sector is pooled to enable us to tailor our advice and guidance to suit your needs.

[ MORE ABOUT US ]

Call our team on 01305 767104 or Request a Call Back

As part of our support service to customers, we offer an initial telephone consultation of 30 minutes duration to assist you in your purchase decision. After, purchase, we offer an informal “perspective” view on any issue where you feel you might benefit from a “different view” on a specific situation such as contract monitoring, inspection queries, personnel or safeguarding.

Fill in the form below and we will call you back.

What is 8 add 4?

Home-based provider locations in domiciliary care

A look at health and social care regulation: introducing the regulations

A look at health and social care standards and regulations

How do I start my own Care Business: Starting up the right way

Call w&p on 01305 767104.

500+ business plans and financial models

Home Care Business Plan PDF Example

• February 28, 2024
• Business Plan

Creating a comprehensive business plan is crucial for launching and running a successful home care business. This plan serves as your roadmap, detailing your vision, operational strategies, and financial plan. It helps establish your home care business’s identity, navigate the competitive market, and secure funding for growth.

This article not only breaks down the critical components of a home care business business plan, but also provides an example of a business plan to help you craft your own.

Whether you’re an experienced entrepreneur or new to the healthcare industry, this guide, complete with a business plan example, lays the groundwork for turning your home care business concept into reality. Let’s dive in!

Our Home Care business plan is designed to address all vital elements necessary for a detailed and effective operational strategy. This plan encompasses the scope of our home care services, marketing approaches, the environment in which we operate, an analysis of our competitors, the structure of our management team, and financial projections. 

• Executive Summary : Offers a succinct overview of the Home Care business’s unique proposition, highlighting personalized and professional in-home care services tailored for seniors, market analysis showcasing the sector’s growth and demand, management’s expertise in senior care, and a financial strategy that outlines investment opportunities and revenue expectations.
• Services & Area Coverage: Describes the array of in-home care services, including personal care, medication management, specialized care for dementia, and emergency response, all delivered within a specified service radius to meet the unique needs of each senior.
• Pricing: Details the pricing strategy , designed to be transparent and competitive, offering flexible options to cater to various financial situations of clients, including hourly and flat-rate packages tailored to different care needs.
• Key Stats: Presents data underscoring the market size , growth trends, and demographics that illustrate the potential and necessity of home care services.
• Key Trends: Highlights significant trends such as the increasing preference for aging in place, the integration of technology in care, and a shift towards personalized care.
• Key Competitors : Analyzes the main competitors within the service area, their offerings, and how the business’s unique approach and technology set it apart.
• SWOT Analysis : Conducts a comprehensive analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats to strategically position the business.
• Marketing Plan : Outlines marketing strategies aimed at building brand awareness, attracting new clients, and retaining them through superior service, patient satisfaction programs, and targeted marketing efforts.
• Timeline : Sets forth key milestones and objectives from the business setup to its launch and key growth phases.
• Management: Highlights the experienced team leading the business, from caregiving professionals to administrative management, emphasizing their roles in ensuring high-quality care and operational success.
• Financial Plan: Projects the financial outlook for the business over the next five years, detailing revenue models from various services, cost management strategies, profit margins, and expected return on investment, ensuring a clear route to financial sustainability and growth.

Home Care Business Plan

Fully editable 30+ slides Powerpoint presentation business plan template.

Download an expert-built 30+ slides Powerpoint business plan template

Executive Summary

The Executive Summary introduces your home care business plan, offering a concise overview of your agency and its services. It should detail your market positioning, the range of home care services you offer, including personal care, nursing care, and companion services, its service area, and an outline of day-to-day operations. 

This section should also explore how your home care agency will integrate into the local community, including the number of direct competitors within the area, identifying who they are, along with your agency’s unique selling points that differentiate it from these competitors. 

Furthermore, you should include information about the management and co-founding team, detailing their roles and contributions to the agency’s success. Additionally, a summary of your financial projections, including revenue and profits over the next five years, should be presented here to provide a clear picture of your agency’s financial plan.

Make sure to cover here _ Business Overview _ Market Overview _ Management Team _ Financial Plan

Dive deeper into Executive Summary

Business Overview

For a Home Care Business, the Business Overview section can be effectively divided into 2 main slides:

Services & Area Coverage

Briefly describe the range of home care services your agency offers, emphasizing the personalized and compassionate care provided to clients in the comfort of their own homes. This can include personal care services like bathing and dressing, skilled nursing care, physical therapy, and companion services such as meal preparation and light housekeeping.

Then, mention the geographic area your agency covers, highlighting the convenience and accessibility of your services to clients within this area. Explain why your service area is strategically chosen to meet the needs of your target clientele, considering factors like population demographics and the presence of community resources.

Pricing & Payment Options

Detail your pricing structure for the various home care services offered, ensuring it reflects the quality of care provided and is competitive within the market you’re targeting. Your pricing strategy should be transparent, making it easy for clients and their families to understand the cost of care.

Also,highlight any flexible payment options, insurance partnerships, or programs that can help offset the cost for clients, such as Medicaid, Medicare, or private insurance coverage. Emphasize any packages or special programs that provide added value to your clients, such as customized care plans or discounted rates for long-term services, encouraging long-term relationships and client loyalty.

Make sure to cover here _ Services & Area Coverage _ Pricing & Payment Options

Market Overview

Industry size & growth.

In the Market Overview of your home care business plan, start by examining the size of the home care industry and its growth potential.

This analysis is crucial for understanding the market’s scope and identifying expansion opportunities, particularly in the context of an aging population and increasing preference for aging in place.

Key market trends

Proceed to discuss recent market trends , such as the growing consumer interest in personalized home care services, the use of technology to improve service delivery, and the emphasis on holistic care that encompasses physical, emotional, and social well-being.

For example, highlight the demand for services tailored to specific health conditions or preferences, alongside the rising popularity of integrated care models that coordinate across different healthcare providers.

Key competitors

Then, consider the competitive landscape, which includes a range of providers from large national chains to local independent agencies, as well as emerging tech-based care solutions.

Emphasize what makes your agency distinctive, whether it’s through exceptional caregiver training, a comprehensive range of services, or specialization in certain types of care (e.g., dementia care, post-operative care).

Make sure to cover here _ Industry size & growth _ Key market trends _ Key competitors

Dive deeper into Key competitors

First, conduct a SWOT analysis for the home care business, highlighting Strengths (such as compassionate and well-trained caregivers, a comprehensive range of services), Weaknesses (including potential regulatory challenges or staffing issues), Opportunities (for example, an aging population and increasing preference for home-based care), and Threats (such as changes in healthcare policies that may affect funding or reimbursement).

Marketing Plan

Next, develop a marketing strategy that outlines how to attract and retain clients through targeted outreach, informative and empathetic communication, engaging online presence, and community partnerships. Emphasize the importance of building trust with clients and their families, showcasing testimonials, and highlighting the qualifications and dedication of your caregiving team.

Finally, create a detailed timeline that outlines critical milestones for the home care agency’s launch, client acquisition efforts, service expansion, and strategic objectives, ensuring the business advances with clear direction and purpose. Include key benchmarks for assessing the quality of care, client satisfaction, and operational efficiency to continually improve and grow your agency.

Make sure to cover here _ SWOT _ Marketing Plan _ Timeline

Dive deeper into SWOT

Dive deeper into Marketing Plan

The Management section focuses on the home care business’s management and their direct roles in daily operations and strategic direction. This part is crucial for understanding who is responsible for making key decisions and driving the home care business towards its financial and operational goals.

For your home care business plan, list the core team members, their specific responsibilities, and how their expertise supports the business.

Financial Plan

The Financial Plan section is a comprehensive analysis of your financial projections for revenue, expenses, and profitability. It lays out your home care business’s approach to securing funding, managing cash flow, and achieving breakeven.

This section typically includes detailed forecasts for the first 5 years of operation, highlighting expected revenue, operating costs and capital expenditures.

For your home care business plan, provide a snapshot of your financial statement (profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow statement), as well as your key assumptions (e.g. number of customers and prices, expenses, etc.).

Make sure to cover here _ Profit and Loss _ Cash Flow Statement _ Balance Sheet _ Use of Funds

Privacy Overview

Domiciliary Care Company

PRICING AND INFORMATION

All in one place

We offer a wide range of services to help you kick-start your domiciliary care business, the right way.

Beautiful design

We are capable to build modern looking brands, this includes website, logo, and documentation. Your business will stand out for sure.

One to One coaching

Each project is unique and we sit down with our clients and give them ideas, advice and coach them for a better outcome.

Customer Satisfaction

We have 100% customer satisfaction rate because we are not rushing. We only complete a project when the client is happy.

Are you looking to start a Domiciliary Care Agency? Let us do the first (and the most important) steps in your business.

Below is a list of services that we offer to help you kick-start your business.

You can select the services that you need. 

WEBSITE + SEO

• 5 to 10 pages
• Google Analytics
• Chat capabilities
• Contact form
• Online job application form
• GDPR Compliant

Website Hosting

• 99.9% up time
• Free SSL Certificate (the lock)
• Unlimited storage
• for 100.000 visits a year
• Fast loading time

Professional email addresses

• Up to 100 email accounts
• 1GB storage per account
• 99.99% up time
• Installation support on your devices

Google Business Profile

• Account setup
• Account verification
• Map (directions)
• Call button
• Website button
• Branded with your logo
• Professional design
• Can be dowloaded from the website
• Word and PDF format

Job Application Form

• Full staff information
• Your contact details in the footer

Business Plan

• 3 years forecast
• Business profile
• Turnover calculation
• Profit/Loss calculation

Staff contract

• Terms and conditions
• Legal requirement
• Editable template

Staff Handbook

• With your logo
• Legal information
• Outlines company policies
• Staff acknowledgement page

Terms & Conditions

• Cancellation policy
• Payment policy
• Word format (editable)

Interview Forms x3

• Care Assistant
• Senior Care Assistant

Reference Forms

• Reference request letter
• Reference request form
• Research for your area
• Weekdays/Weekends rates
• Day/Night rates

Invoice Template

• Payment details
• Invoice number
• Add unlimited entries
• Simple and clean design

Policies and Procedures

• Copyright in the footer
• Monthly updates
• In line with the latest legislation
• Share with your staff
• Over 300 policies
• CQC compliant
• COVID-19 policy
• Download PDF

Staff Profile

• Name of the Staff Member
• Contact details
• Training details
• COVID-19 Vaccines

Mileage Form

• Track Your staff Mileage
• Word Format(editable)

Staff Feedback Form

• Track Your Staff Performance
• Gain Trust from Clients

Accident/Incident Investigation Report

• Keep your business safe

Care Templates

• Care needs covered
• Risk Assessments
• Daily Charts
• Editable templates

New Client Assessment

• Service User's Profile
• Medical History
• Clinical Needs
• Mental Health Needs
• Covid-19 Status

Short Video Presentation

• Your business presentation
• Area covered

Logo design and Branding

• Professional logo
• Unlimited reviews
• Brand colour selection
• 2 logo variations
• Dark and Light background
• jpg, pdf, png and vector format

Staff badge design

• Your logo applied
• Brand colours
• Support with printing

Social Media Accounts

• "Follow us" on your website
• Business description
• Business contact details
• 4 branded posts
• Double sided
• Stunning design
• Full colour
• Premium gloss finish
• Delivered to your door

Business Cards

• QR code to your website
• Quality Paper

Headed Letter

Compliment slip, email signatures.

• Professional Design
• Your contact details
• Links to social media
• A must for any business
• Remote setup

Business Registration

• Fast and Secure
• Confidentiality
• Private Ltd.
• Correct setup

Virtual Landline

• 5 min to install and ready to use
• £40 (+VAT) Setup fee
• No actual landline phone
• Transfer all calls to a mobile
• Calls will ring an app on your mobile phone
• You can ring back using the landline number
• 0333 number
• Record branded voicemails
• Never miss a call
• Out of hours message

CQC Mock Inspection

• Responsive?

Statement of Purpose

• We write it for you
• 3-5 reviews
• Your services

Coaching Webinar

• Minimum 2 hours
• We cascade our knowledge
• Learn how to run your business
• Zoom webinar
• Ask us any question
• How to increase your chances
• Decide if this business is for you

CQC Registered Manager application and interview guide

• Questions CQC may ask
• The process of application
• Step by step
• Tips to pass interview
• What you need to prepare

Listed on our website

• Found on Google
• More chances to be found as a business

Total: £5,272 (+VAT)

£6,326.4 (vat incl.), each item in the starter pack can be sold separately., the timescale of completion for the full starter pack: 4 to 6 weeks., additional services, website maintenance.

• Includes Website and Email
• Fixing errors
• Update Plugins
• Monitoring for downtime
• Optimisation
• Increase brand awareness
• 3 posts per week
• 3 social media platforms
• Accounts monitoring
• Monthly Payments
• Business is covered

Tender Sourcing

• Finding contracts
• Specialised tendering platforms
• Account Creation
• Regular checks
• Setting up alerts
• The second contract will be sourced for less

Tender Application

• Over 90% success rate
• Full Support
• We will apply on your behalf
• Documents checked before submitting
• Advise if tender is suitable
• Add your logo
• Uniform included
• Select your uniform
• Full colour embroidery
• Free delivery

CQC Registration

• We have all the CQC required forms
• Application via the CQC Portal
• Minimising the risk of being declined
• CQC Interview guide
• Ongoing support during registration
• If declined, we apply again

Advertising Banner

• Custom size
• Outdoor or indoor
• High Quality
• Wind resistant

Home Care Software

• Add clients and staff
• Staff App included
• Staff can record care via the app
• Electronic time sheet
• Automatic mileage tracking

Accountancy Services

• Trusted Tax and Business Advise
• Annual Financial Accounts preparation and tax returns
• Book-keeping, VAT Making Tax Digital (MTD)
• Payroll Services Real Time Information (RTI)
• Setup monthly meetings
• Online Services

Promotional Products

• Water bottles
• Stand-up Banners

Have you got any questions?

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Business plan 2023-26

Our 2023-2026 business plan sets out our position during the third year of our 2021 corporate strategy.

The plan is focused on achieving our ambitions. We have written it in line with our strategy to give a clear link between our day-to-day regulatory activities and the strategy.

It sets out our key objectives, what we want to achieve and how we will know we are there – either through key results or milestones.

The key results are measurable metrics that we will report on through our board meetings. The milestones are key deliverables from our work that help set up our future ways of working.

Introduction

Our objectives, our key results, appendix a – risks.

• Appendix B – Budget

Appendix C – Detailed objectives and key results

We are entering a vital period in our transformation with a determined focus on smarter regulation.

Moving from 2023 to 2024, we will deliver more reliable, flexible processes and technology – and we will measure that this works for our organisational needs and priorities, focused on being an insight-driven regulator.

Our new framework for data governance will underpin our ambitions for better use of data in realising our key strategic commitments.

Making progress on the People and Communities theme of our strategy, and in line with the recommendations of our listening, learning and responding to concerns Review, we will improve how we gather, listen and act on people’s experiences of care. This is about providing a better customer service to people who take the time to share information with us and our ambition to deliver regulation driven by people’s needs and experiences.

Through our work on Safety through Learning, we will continue to improve how we regulate for stronger safety cultures across health and care. We will prioritise safety, creating stronger safety cultures, focusing on learning, improving expertise, listening and acting on people’s experiences, and taking clear and proactive action when safety doesn’t improve.

This year we are working to deliver on the Accelerating Improvement theme of our strategy. Our improvement campaign approach will test and develop our skills and capacity to identify areas for improvement, using our range of regulatory impact mechanisms to create change – and using insight-driven approaches to understand and strengthen our impact. We will continue to embed improvement throughout our ways of working and to build our approach to supporting innovation.

As we progress towards the end of transforming our organisation, we continue to design our new ways of working and build the technology to support how we work.

Our new regulatory governance processes will come into play - we will see our Regulatory Governance, Regulatory Leadership and Outreach services work together to identify and prioritise our regulatory activities. We are focused on strengthening our engagement with providers, stakeholders and people who use services – and we will be better at using our insight to determine where we focus our independent voice to drive improvement in health and care services.

Reviews and updates to our single assessment framework and our new regulatory approach will continue, using feedback from providers and people who use services – this helps ensure our effectiveness and impact, delivering the right activity in the right place at the right time.

We are working with providers, the public and stakeholders to build trust and confidence in how we make sure that services are providing safe and good quality care – and we are using improved data and insights, shared with us by providers and the public, to give a better understanding of how and where we can influence improvement.

Finally, but essentially, we are committed to progressing on safety by listening, learning, and responding to people’s concerns within our own organisation. This includes how we have identified and how we will make improvements following our recent independent review. We are committed to working with our trade unions, our staff networks, and our colleagues to achieve lasting improvements in our relationships and improve colleague involvement and engagement across our organisation.

This plan explains how we will do this and how we will measure our achievements.

Ian Dilks OBE, Chair

Ian Trenholm, Chief Executive

This business plan reflects our position during the third year of implementation of our 2021 corporate strategy. It is focused on achieving CQC’s ambitions – chief among these is the organisational transformation to become an insight-driven regulator that is better able to drive good and outstanding health and care services for people.

The purpose of this business plan is to set out our key objectives across the three years, what we want to achieve and how we will know we are there – this could be either through key results or milestones. The key results are measurable metrics that we will report on regularly through our board meetings. The milestones are key deliverables from our projects and transformations that help set up our future ways of working.

This business plan is structured in line with our strategy, so we have a clear link in our planning and performance between our day-to-day regulatory activities and the strategy. Through our annual report and accounts, and strategy assurance, we will evaluate our delivery against the plan and in particular the key results to ensure they still meet the priorities and requirements of the strategy and our business.

CQC continues to support services to improve. Our focus remains on services that may be struggling, concentrating our efforts where there is more risk for people who use services. However, we will increasingly use our unique position in the system to seek out innovation that supports services and systems to think differently.

The context for our work in the year ahead is that the legacy of the pandemic continues to affect the services we regulate and the people who work in care services.

There are longstanding issues around workforce capacity and planning – this affects the people who need these services. Care pathways and people’s experiences of care are affected by different issues in different parts of the system.

This is a rolling three-year business plan with clear objectives, themes and strategic ambitions. As we deliver on our transformation programmes, we will be revisiting the key results to ensure they align to our new methodology and are clear in our delivery and commitments.

Our plan is to tackle inequalities in health and care, and we are doing this by developing our approach to health and care inequalities - working with our partners, aligning our evidence base and improving our skills for assessment of providers and local systems.

This year, we will substantially progress our Transformation programme which is essential to our ability to achieve our other objectives. We will also assess local systems using our new powers to examine and understand how quality of care is experienced across integrated care systems. We will use our findings to share the good practice we see – it will also help us to challenge the variation we find and drive improvement.

The plan will continue to evolve in line with changes affecting CQC. One of these is the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) announcement earlier this year that the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch’s (HSIB’s) maternity programme will be hosted later this year by CQC. These new hosting arrangements will come into force this October, and we are working through the arrangements for the smooth transition of this work and the colleagues who undertake it.

We will continue to monitor our success against our objectives and this plan will be refreshed again in 2024.

People and communities Objective 1: We will respond to information we receive and incorporate it into our regulation. Objective 2: Through our regulation we will work in partnership and collaboration with other sectors and regulators. Smarter regulation

• Objective 3: We will manage our organisation well, determining and measuring this through appropriate assurance.
• Objective 4: We will use insight to measure risk at service and national level and use the insight to prioritise our activities.
• Objective 5: We will have an 'always on' regulation and ensure only services assessed as able to provide appropriate safe care are registered.

Objective 6: We will protect people who use services from risk of harm, by using systematic findings from assessment and enforcement powers where there is poor practice.

• Objective 7: We will train and develop our people, so they have appropriate capabilities and personal and career development. We will respond to their wellbeing needs and reinforce our equalities ambitions, whilst ensuring the key results for our people are supportive of cultural expectations.
• Objective 8: We will manage within our financial resources and measure that we are delivering effectively, efficiently and economically.
• Objective 9: We will deliver reliable, flexible processes and technology and measure that that they are responding to our needs and priorities.

Safety through learning

• Objective 10: We will regulate for stronger safety cultures across health and social care.
• Objective 11: We will listen, learn and respond to people’s concerns about our organisation.

Accelerating improvement

• Objective 12: Using our independent voice, we will communicate our findings on the health and social care sectors and poor practice, and develop our knowledge of what good looks like.
• Objective 13: We will spotlight priority areas that need to improve and enable access to support where it’s needed most and where relevant.

Core ambition: Tackling inequalities in health and care

• Objective 14: We will develop our approach to reducing inequalities in health and care through work with our partners, aligning our evidence base and improving our skills for assessment of providers and local systems.

Core ambition: Accessing local systems

Objective 15: we will examine and understand how quality of care is experienced in local systems and use our findings to share best practice, challenge unwarranted variances and drive improvement., people and communities, objective 1: we will respond to information we receive and incorporate it into our regulation.

Milestones:

• Review our triage and categorisation of Safeguarding and Whistleblowing and define meaningful measures for this information in future, in line with the timing of the regulatory transformation connect. (November 2023)
• We will create and test quality measures for NCSC by July 2023.

Key results:

• Achieve a 60-80% response rate on NCSC call lines.
• Process time from receipt to transferred to Operations (where required).
• Monitor and improve the timeliness of Mental Health Act reviews.
• Ninety-five per cent of safeguarding alerts and priority 1 whistleblowing will have action recorded within 1 day, priority 2 whistleblowing will have action recorded with 3 days and safeguarding concerns and priority 3 and 4 whistleblowing concerns have action within 5 days.
• Monitor the percentage of assessment triggered by people’s experience and feedback.

Objective 2: Through our regulation we will work in partnership and collaboration with other sectors and regulators

• Deliver volume of commitments on partnership assessments per quarter.

Smarter regulation

Objective 3: we will manage our organisation well, determining and measuring this through appropriate assurance.

• We will develop, test and then implement a new quality framework by September 2023.
• We will also deliver the internal audit programme within the financial year. To do this, we will design and develop productivity metrics.
• 90% of audit recommendations are complete within agreed timescales.
• Design and develop productivity metrics.

Objective 4: We will use insight to measure risk at service and national level and use the insight to prioritise our activities

• We will launch national and service level profiles by October 2023.
• Increase the percentage of inspections triggered by risk.
• Monitor and analyse trends around the percentage of risk inspections resulting in a rating less than good.

Objective 5: We will have an always on regulation and ensure only services assessed as able to provide appropriate safe care are registered

• We will further explore and clarify the definition of ‘out of hours’ assessment and what future targets should look like. (Q3)
• We will create and test the process for understanding quality of registration services across Q1 and Q2.
• Reduce the average time between assessments.
• Increase site visits out of hours by 5%.
• Monitor and improve days per quarter that Experts by Experience and Specialist Advisors are used as part of assessment.
• Reduce the volume of applications pending completion that are over 10 weeks old.

Objective 6: We will protect people who use services from risk of harm, by using systematic findings from assessment and enforcement powers where there is poor practice

• Monitor the percentage of services that require enforcement action following regulatory activity.
• Improve the timeliness in taking civil enforcement action.
• Monitor the percentage of civil enforcement which receive representations.
• Baseline (and then improve) timeliness in criminal enforcement.
• Monitor the percentage of successful prosecutions and guilty pleas.
• Reduction in prosecution of common incidents.

Objective 7: We will train and develop our people, so they have appropriate capabilities and personal and career development. We will respond to their wellbeing needs and reinforce our equalities ambitions, whilst ensuring the key results for our people are supportive of cultural expectations

• We will monitor the volume of internal recruitment and promotion and undertake a quarterly review.
• Widening the People/Pulse Survey and ESR protected characteristics data capture (for example, trans and non-binary, disability and neurodivergence breakdown), and going further than the Equality Act characteristics, for example, menopause, social mobility.
• Monitor the percentage of colleagues passing probation (equivalent for internal candidates)
• The percentage of colleagues with career development plan.
• Increase in completion of development opportunities.
• Increase in the percentage of colleagues with protected characteristics at all grades.
• Increase reporting of protected characteristics to 95%
• Increase positive sentiment on ‘recommend CQC as a place to work.’
• Baseline (then increase) positive sentiment on ‘I feel empowered by my line manager.’

Objective 8: We will manage within our financial resources and measure that we are delivering effectively, efficiently and economically

• Within 1% of our available fee funded envelope.
• Within our available Grant in Aid funded envelope.

Objective 9: We will deliver reliable, flexible processes and technology and measure that that they are responding to our needs and priorities

• All staff and providers will be using the new single assessment framework, regulatory framework and regulatory platform by 31 March 2024.
• All staff in corporate functions will be working in a new organisational structure and using the latest cloud-based technology by 31 March 2024.
• Availability of systems – target 99.9%
• Public and provider customer satisfaction on our systems – target 90%
• Increase in positive feedback during people survey, for question ‘I have the equipment / technology to carry out my role.’

Objective 10: We will regulate for stronger safety cultures across health and social care

• Complete research on safety cultures in 2023
• Establish a language and definition of safety culture 23/24
• Develop training to increase internal expertise on safety 23/24

Objective 11: We will listen, learn and respond to people’s concerns about our organisation

• We will create and test quality metrics on culture by December 2023.
• We will produce a quarterly analysis of ratings review.
• We will also support the COVID-19 inquiry.
• Baseline the timeliness in our complaints responses.
• Baseline the timeliness and volumes of Freedom of Information requests we receive and respond to.
• Monitor the percentage of recommendations with progress and on track.
• Improve the sentiment scores for the Pulse survey question ‘I feel it is safe to challenge the way things are done here’ – from 29% to 51% over the three years of the business plan.

Objective 12: Using our independent voice, we will communicate our findings on the sectors and poor practice and develop our knowledge of what good looks like

• We will use our people’s experience framework and pilot inequalities local outreach plans in Q3.
• We will also publish our major reports across the financial year.
• Monitor and improve the number of people who access our major reports and publications through our website.
• Output of quarterly analysis.

Objective 13: We will spotlight priority areas that need to improve, enable access to support where it’s needed most and where relevant encourage innovation and research

• Launch improvement campaigns.
• Evaluate impact of improvement campaign.
• We will publish research on evidence-based practice, improvement cultures and innovation in services to inform our improvement approach across regulation.
• We will also produce our strategic improvement plan by the end of Q2.

Objective 14: We will develop our approach to health and care inequality reduction through work with our partners, aligning our evidence base and improving our skills for assessment of providers and local systems

• We will establish an appropriate structure for enhanced internal and external working.
• We will use published evidence, data and the 42 ICS Health Inequalities reduction plans to assess equity in access quality statement and report nationally. (Q1)
• Obtain health inequalities reduction plans, identify appropriate data and insight, and align our findings to national measures that exist on health inequalities. (Q2)
• We will build evidence to enable us to assess equity in access, experience and outcomes in providers in Q3.
• We will publish analysis of CQC and public evidence to start to understand the quality of care in a local area or integrated care system. (Q3).
• Engagement activities with integrated care systems, providers and other regulators. (Q2)
• Pilot assessment of Integrated care systems (ICS) completed and learning shared in 23/24.
• Pilot local authority assessment to be completed and learning shared, and volume of local authority assessments to be published according to baselining plan in 23/24.

Budget 2023-24

Strategic theme: people and communities.

1.1 Desired impact: Review and improve how we utilize and respond to safeguarding and whistleblowing information in order to demonstrate we are an organisation that listens and utilizes people’s views on regulated services.

• Key result: Ninety-five per cent of safeguarding alerts and priority 1 whistleblowing will have action recorded within 1 day, priority 2 whistleblowing will have action recorded with 3 days and safeguarding concerns and priority 3 and 4 whistleblowing concerns have action within 5 days.
• Milestone: Review our triage and categorisation of Safeguarding and Whistleblowing and define meaningful measures for this information in future, in line with the timing of the regulatory transformation connect. (November 2023)
• Owner: Directors of Operations

1.2 Desired impact: As we transition through regulatory methodology it is important that we monitor and ensure that people’s voice and feedback are key to our regulatory assessment.

• Key result: Monitor the percentage of assessment triggered by people’s experience and feedback.

1.3 Desired impact: To ensure we capture key regulatory information and provide an effective service, calls to our National Customer Service Centre (NCSC) will be responded to quickly, processed promptly and information captured to a high standard to inform our regulation.

• Milestone: Create and test quality measures for NCSC by July 2023.
• Key result: Achieve a 60-80% response rate on NCSC call lines (60% general enquiries, 70% registration, 80% concerns and 80% mental health).
• Key result: Process time from receipt to transferred to Operations (where required).
• Owner: Director of Operations Hub

1.4 Desired impact: Ensure people detained under the Mental Health Act have access to a complaints process where they feel listened to and to increase public knowledge of the experience of people detained.

• Key result: We will monitor and improve the timeliness of Mental Health Act reviews.
• Owner: Director of National Operations

Objective 2. Through our regulation we will work in partnership and collaboration with other sectors and regulators

2.1 Desired impact: Through partnership working we will inspect and assess specialist services to ensure safe and effective care. We will use our findings to drive improvement in these areas. Partnership assessments includes Health and Justice, Children’s service, Mental Health Act reviews and Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations work.

• Key result: Deliver volume of commitments on partnership assessments per quarter.

3.1 Desired impact: Defining what good quality regulation is and implementing quality measures locally and centrally, we will provide data on our current status and a governance pathway from strategy to quality improvement informed by quality assurance.

• Milestone: Develop, test and then implement a new quality framework by September 2023.
• Owner: Director of Finance, Commercial, Workplace & Performance

3.2 Desired impact: Our Internal Audit programme will provide independent assurance of our risk management, governance and control measures that are in place. Where recommendations are made, we will ensure timely action is taken.

• Milestone: Deliver the internal audit programme within the financial year.
• Key result: 90% of audit recommendations are complete within agreed timescales.

3.3 Desired impact: Alongside the roll-out of our new methodology and processes we will develop metrics to understand and monitor our operational productivity.

• Milestone: Design and develop productivity metrics.

4.1 Desired impact: We will embed National and Service level profiles in our regulatory approach to ensure all data and information is utilised in our understanding of the risk of services.

• Milestone: Launch national and service level profiles by October 2023.
• Owner: Director of Data and Insight

4.2 Desired impact: We will explore sector and regional variation in the outcomes of our assessment, specifically in relation to those with the most inherent risk, to ensure continuous learning and improvement in our insight approach.

• Key result: Increase the percentage of inspections triggered by risk.
• Key result: Monitor and analyse trends around the percentage of risk inspections resulting in a rating less than good.

Objective 5: We will have an always on regulation and ensure only services assessed as able to provide appropriate safe care are registered.

5.1 Desired impact: We will reduce the time between a service being rated and their next assessment to reduce the time between assessments, especially in poorly rated services. This will reduce the potential impact on people receiving poor care, as well as improve the accuracy of service ratings.

• Key result: Reduce the average time between assessments.

5.2 Desired impact: Out of hours activity is key to our regulation. We will be clear on our definition of out of hours and expectations. Whilst this work is ongoing, we will increase the number of out of hours site visits for services where people live to ensure to ensure we have a wider experience of the service, and the care people receive.

• Milestone: Further explore and clarify on definition of ‘out of hours’ assessment and what future targets should look like (Q3).
• Key result: Increase the percentage of site visits out of hours by 10% by September 2023.
• Owner: Director of Operations

5.3 Desired impact: We will increase the proportion of time that people who use services or are experts in providing services, are involved in assessing service quality.

• Key result: Monitor and improve days per quarter that Experts by Experience and Specialist advisors are used as part of assessment.

5.4 Desired impact: We will develop our understanding of the quality of our registration service through a new process to measure it.

• Milestone: Create and test process for understanding quality of registration service across Q1 and Q2.

5.5 Desired impact: We will ensure we offer a timely registration service for providers.

• Key result: We will reduce the volume of applications pending completion that are over 10 weeks old.

6.1 Desired impact: We will analyse and monitor services that require enforcement following assessment to review for any trends or patterns. We will ensure where we need to take civil enforcement it is undertaken in a timely manner to minimise the risk of people receiving poor care and to ensure the services have the information necessary to take action.

• Key result: Percentage of services that require enforcement action following regulatory activity.
• Key result: Improving the timeliness in taking civil enforcement action.

6.2 Desired impact: We will monitor where we receive representations to civil enforcement to ensure we can learn from any themes in both the challenges and the outcomes.

• Key result: Monitor percentage of civil enforcement which receive representations.

6.3 Desired impact: Ensure we take timely criminal enforcement action that is successful in holding services to account and protecting people and monitor the outcomes of criminal activity to consider any learning.

• Key results: Baseline (and then improve) timeliness in criminal enforcement and monitor percentage of successful prosecutions and guilty pleas.

6.4 Desired impact: Through learning and engagement with the sector we will see a reduction in prosecution of common incidents (such as falls from windows, ligature risks and sexual abuse).

• Key result: Reduction in prosecution of common incidents.

Objective 7: We will train and develop our people, so they have appropriate capabilities and personal and career development; respond to their well-being needs and reinforce our equalities ambitions; whilst ensuring the key results for our people are supportive of cultural expectations

7.1 Desired impact: Ensure our people have the appropriate capabilities for their role we will monitor completion of induction requirements and passing probation.

• Key result: Monitor the percentage of colleagues passing probation (equivalent for internal candidates).
• Owner: Director of People

7.2 Desired impact: We will support our people with career progression through personal developments and participation in development.

• Milestone: We will monitor the volume of internal recruitment and promotion and undertake a quarterly review.
• Key result: Percentage of colleagues with career development plan.
• Key result: Increase in completion of development opportunities.

7.3 Desired impact: We will reinforce and deliver our equalities ambitions as an organisation.

• Milestone: Widening the People/Pulse Survey and ESR protected characteristics data capture (for example, trans and non-binary, disability and neurodivergence breakdown), and going further than the Equality Act characteristics, for example, menopause, social mobility.
• Key result: Increase of percentage of colleagues with protected characteristics at all grades.
• Key result: Increasing reporting of protected characteristics to 95%.

7.4 Desired impact: Through our people survey we will see an increase in the volume of colleagues who provide a positive response to the question ‘recommend CQC as a place to work’, whilst continuing to drive improvement in this area.

• Key result: Increase positive sentiment on ‘Recommend CQC as a place to work’.

7.5 Desired impact: We will understand our colleague’s sentiment in relation to the support and line management they receive through our people pulse survey.

• Key result: Baseline (then increase) positive sentiment, ‘I feel empowered by my line manager.’

8.1 Desired impact: To ensure we are making sound financial decisions we will ensure we manage our budget within our available fee funded envelope.

• Key result: Within 1% of our available fee funded envelope.

8.2 Desired impact: Ensure we are making sound financial decisions; we will ensure we manage our budget within our available grant-in-aid funded envelope.

• Key result: Within our available grant-in-aid funded envelope.

9.1 Desired impact: All CQC will be using a new single assessment framework across all sectors and across the full breadth of our regulation, including registration, assessment, reporting and enforcement.

• Milestone: All staff and providers are using the new single assessment framework, regulatory framework and Regulatory Platform by 31 March 2024.
• Owner: Director of Transformation

9.2 Desired impact: We will have defined structures, ways of working, capabilities, roles and responsibilities for our corporate functions and modernised CQC finance systems, to ensure future resilience, address current deficiencies and deliver a direct benefit to a wide range of stakeholders by upgrading the service offering available to support the business.

• Milestone: All staff in corporate functions will be working in a new organisational structure and using the latest cloud-based technology by 31 March 2024.

9.3 Desired impact: We want to ensure our colleagues and providers who use our systems, have access to reliable consistent technology systems to support our work.

• Key result: Availability of systems – target 99.9%.
• Owner: Director of Technology

9.4 Desired impact: We will track customer satisfaction with our systems to understand the digital service we provide and inform improvement.

• Key result: Public and Provider Customer Satisfaction on our systems – target 90%

9.5 Desired impact: We want to ensure our people have a positive experience with their equipment and technology, that makes it possible to do their work.

• Key result: Increase in positive feedback during people survey, for question ‘I have the equipment / technology to carry out my role’.

10.1 Desired impact: We will regulate for stronger safety cultures across health and social care.

• Milestone: Complete research on safety cultures in 2023.
• Milestone: Establish a language and definition of safety culture 23/24.
• Milestone: Develop training to increase internal expertise on safety 23/24.
• Owner: Director of Policy and Strategy

Objective 11. We will listen, learn and respond to people’s concerns about our organisation

11.1 Desired impact: Ensure we have a culture in place to listen, learn and respond as an organisation.

• Milestone: Create and test quality metrics on culture by December 2023.

11.2 Desired impact: We will respond to complaints about CQC, and Freedom of Information requests in a timely manner to ensure we are transparent and providing information / supportive of those who contact us.

• Key result: Baseline the timeliness in our complaint’s responses.
• Key result: Baseline the timeliness and volumes of Freedom of Information requests we receive and respond to.
• Owner: Director of Governance and Legal Services

11.3 Desired impact: We will respond to requests to review the ratings reviews that we have received and evaluate the reviews for any themes, trends or learning.

• Milestone: Quarterly analysis of ratings review

11.4 Desired impact: As an organisation we will support the learning process from the COVID-19 pandemic, including providing information, documentation and supporting the COVID-19 inquiry.

• Milestone: Support the Covid-19 inquiry.

11.5 Desired impact: CQC colleagues trust and feel able to use our Speak up processes.

• Key result: Improve the sentiment scores for the Pulse survey question ‘I feel it is safe to challenge the way things are done here’ – from 29% to 51% over the 3 years of the business plan.

11.6 Desired impact: To ensure visibility in our delivery we will monitor the recommendations made to CQC from stakeholders and the commitments we make through our publications and track the delivery and progress quarterly.

• Key result: Monitor the percentage of recommendations with progress and on track.

12.1 Desired impact: Our independent voice gives unique perspective on people’s experience and shines a light on inequalities in the sector. Throughout the year we will publish a number of major reports and evaluate and monitor the reach they have.

• Milestone: Publication of our major reports across the financial year.
• Key result: Monitor and improve the number of people who access our major reports and publications through our website.
• Owner: Director of Engagement

12.2 Desired impact: Through quarterly analysis we will demonstrate that we have chosen the most important areas to focus on, based on our evidence and insights, and ensure that, in our publications, inequalities have been addressed.

• Key result: Output of quarterly analysis (To include quarterly qual analysis on decision making for independent voice prioritisation)
• Owner: Director of Data and insight

12.3 Desired impact: Our independent voice will have a strong focus on people’s experiences and seek to reduce inequalities. Independent Voice draws on findings from our people’s experience framework and inequalities outreach.

• Milestone: Using our people’s experience framework and piloting inequalities local outreach plans (Q3)

Objective 13. We will spotlight priority areas that need to improve, enable access to support where it’s needed most and where relevant encourage innovation and research

13.1 Desired impact: We will undertake a series of improvement campaigns throughout the year, and for each undertake an evaluation of the impact of the work, the results of which will inform our improvement campaigns and overall improvement approach across CQC for the following years.

• Milestone: Launch of improvement campaigns.
• Milestone: Evaluate the impact of improvement campaigns.

13.2 Desired impact: We will commission and publish research on evidence-based practice, improvement cultures and innovation in services to inform our improvement approach across regulation.

• Milestone: Publish research on evidence-based practice, improvement cultures and innovation in services to inform our improvement approach across regulation.

13.3 Desired impact: We will produce a plan on activities we will drive improvement internally, and in the health and care system, whilst delivering our strategic commitments. Our plan will incorporate our work on our quality improvement strategy.

• Milestone: Produce strategic improvement plan by end of Q2.
• Owner: Director of Integrated Care, Inequalities and Improvement

Objective 14. We will develop our approach to health and care inequality reduction through work with our partners, aligning our evidence base and improving our skills for assessment of providers and local systems

14.1 Desired impact: In order to ensure appropriate skills, approach and tactical response to drive health inequalities we will establish an appropriate structure to enhance both internal and external working.

• Milestone: Establish an appropriate structure for both enhanced internal and external working (Q1

14.2 Desired impact: We will use published evidence, data and the 42 ICS Health Inequalities reduction plans to assess equity in access quality statement and report nationally. (Q1)

• Milestone: We will use published evidence, data and the 42 ICS Health Inequalities reduction plans to assess equity in access quality statement and report nationally. (Q1)

14.3 Desired impact: We will obtain health inequalities reduction plans for 22-23 to identify health inequalities by footprint area, and this with key stakeholders, appropriate data and insight, and align our findings to national measures of health inequalities. We will use the conclusions throughout our regulation.

• Milestone: Obtain health inequalities reduction plans, identify appropriate data and insight, and align our findings to national measures that exist on health inequalities. (Q2)

14.4 Desired impact: We will build evidence to enable us to assess equity in access, experience, and outcomes in providers in our Single Assessment Framework

• Milestone: Build evidence to enable us to assess equity in access, experience, and outcomes in providers (Q3)

15.1 Desired impact: We will review data, ratings and published documentary evidence across all local authorities, the analysis will enable us to start to understand the quality of care in a local area or integrated care system and provide independent assurance to the public of the quality of care in their area.

• Milestone: Publish analysis of CQC and public evidence to start to understand the quality of care in a local area or integrated care system. (Q3)

15.2 Desired impact: Use our Integrated Care System insights, to engage, influence and drive improvement across sectors.

• Milestone: Engagement activities with integrated care systems, providers and other regulators. (Q2)

15.3 Desired impact: We will launch our work to review and assess how Integrated Care Systems are delivering their responsibilities under the Health and Care Act 2022. Pilot integrated care system methodology in 23/24.

• Milestone: Pilot assessment of Integrated care systems (ICS) completed and learning shared in 23/24.

15.4 Desired impact: We will launch our work to review and assess how Local Authorities are delivering their Care Act functions. Up to five pilots and up to 20 baseline assessments in 23/24.

• Milestone: Pilot local authority assessment to be completed and learning shared, and volume of local authority assessments to be published according to baselining plan in 23/24.
• Owner: Director of Adult Social Care

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Related information

A new strategy for the changing world of health and social care - CQC's strategy from 2021

Annual report and accounts 2021/22

• Business Type
• Business Plan for Nursing Agency

Nursing Agency Small Business Idea and Business Plan

Starting your own small business in the UK isn’t easy but having a properly developed business plan will help you achieve success.

To start a Nursing Agency business in the UK, take the time and explain the idea via a business plan.

Understanding all of the aspects of the business idea will be the key to getting the Nursing Agency business running like a well-oiled machine. The business plan you develop will help you organize the elements needed into a strategy that you can actually use to startup, by paving a clear road map as to what you need to follow for the lifespan of your business.

Starting a Nursing Agency business isn’t easy, but when done right, it can lead to a lot of success.

To help you get started, you can use the free business plan builder tool to develop your own Nursing Agency business plan.

The business plan template is very easy to use, is interactive and will quickly and easily help you create your business plan just by answering the needed questions about your small business idea.

Create your own Nursing Agency business plan for free using the Business Plan Builder

The free business plan template builder is divided into a few easy to follow steps.

The free business plan builder template is provided by UKStartups.org to help you develop your own business plan. For step by step guidance, see the 5 steps below.

Once completed, the result will be a clean, professional plan that will help you start your own Nursing Agency small business in the UK.

When you have completed your Nursing Agency business plan, the next step will be to find available funding that will help, or to speak with a funding adviser who will assist you each step of the way to securing the needed funds to make your Nursing Agency business startup.

If you are looking to limit your startup costs when starting up a Nursing Agency small business in the UK, this free business plan builder tool will be it.

Starting a Nursing Agency business is only one of the ways others have used this free business plan tool. There are hundreds of different ideas you can start, and if you need guidance, do reach out to a UKStartups expert to get the needed assistance and guidance.

Step 1. Your business information

To develop a proper Nursing Agency business plan with the free business plan builder template, it is important to answer each of the questions about your business to the best of your abilities.

What is your business? What are the products/services you provide? Who are your customers? What are your goals…etc?

Having a clear explanation will help you create a in-depth business plan that you can actually use to start the Nursing Agency business and to apply for needed funding to cover your startup costs.

Step 2. Projecting your revenues/income

The Nursing Agency industry can have great results. Planning and projecting the financial figures to approximate what you will make each year is crucial to building a strong business plan.

What do you think your business will make from each of its products/services? Simply list your products/services, enter the appropriate financial figures (costs and expenses).

If you don’t have the figures, in many cases it is recommended to do a a bit more research on other Nursing Agency businesses locally and within your own region to get an idea of potential revenue. You can do your best to estimate the figures and growth potential.

If you need assistance in projecting, you can always contact UK Startups funding experts for the help.

Step 3. Your business market

As a Nursing Agency business, having a clear explanation of the market and industry that you are in will help you plan for the figure and will ensure you can take the business to the next level.

Explain your location of business, share specifics about your customers, showcase your competition and explain the advantages you have over your competition.

Step 4. The future plan

Starting your own Nursing Agency business and getting it off the ground is important to you.

No matter if you’re planning on applying for government funding for your Nursing Agency business or not, it is important to plan out the future and provide an explanation of how you will grow the business. This means explaining your marketing plan, your sales strategy and clearly outlining a growth plan for the next few years.

Be sure to break this down step by step to show how you intend on making sure your Nursing Agency business can grow each year.

Keep in mind that often business plans are focused on key people. Be sure to discuss yourself, your role and any other key figures in the business as well.

Step 5. The financials

In the end, it all comes down to the financials. If you are seeking funding, or not – the business plan you develop needs to have clearly defined financials or projections. The business plan builder tool makes it easy to develop your financial charts by simply entering your expected revenues per month and year. If you don’t have the figures as it’s a new business be sure to project the figures based on your expectations. If you need help with this, ask the UK Startups experts .

A clear breakdown of your funding needs is also recommended in case you are seeking funding and this free business plan template will help you with exactly that. When developing your Nursing Agency business plan using this free template, the above 5 steps are recommended in order to succeed. While there are other key points that will assist you in starting your business, finding funding...etc, the free template will help put you on the right path

Be sure to request a professional to review your business plan , to answer any questions you may have and to help you with the funding search once you’ve done the initial free template. You can request this directly via UKStartups.org and through the Small Business Startup Platform as a member.

If starting a Nursing Agency business is just one of your ideas, perhaps considering other options, here are some popular small business’s others have chosen to startup

• Neapolitan Restaurant
• Down Home Cooking Restaurant
• School District Office
• High School
• Environmental Consultant

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