Are you prepared to take your care business to the next level? Plan ahead for financial year 2024-2025.

As the new financial year approaches, social care organisations in the UK face a unique set of challenges ahead. The rising cost of living means that budgets are under pressure. Although the energy price cap coming into effect in April means that bills will fall to their lowest level for two years, they are still far above where they were pre-pandemic. In addition, the rise in the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage taking effect on 1st April means that providers may see an increase in their wage bill, which is not offset by the reduction in their energy costs. It is no secret that costs are rising faster than contributions from local authorities and the NHS, thus resulting in operating margins being squeezed. An ageing population is causing increased demand, and there are still significant care staffing vacancies. Set against this backdrop, many business owners and managers may be considering ways in which they can streamline their care operations. So, where else can efficiencies be found?

The sector continues to navigate the aftermath of the pandemic, grappling with staffing shortages, funding and inflationary pressures, and evolving regulations. However, amidst these difficulties, there are opportunities for growth and success. We’ve shared some of our knowledge of running care businesses to equip social care providers with practical steps to ensure a smooth and positive start to the new financial year.

What are the key financial considerations for your care organisations in the upcoming year?

1. Conduct a thorough review of your finances. Analyse past expenditures, identify areas of potential savings, and set and stick to a realistic budget for the new year. Potential savings can be achieved by reviewing your procurement practices i.e. negotiated better rates, additional services, alternative suppliers, bulk purchasing, and think what you can outsource. Explore grant opportunities and consider diversified funding options.
2. Closely manage your workforce. Attract and retain the right staff by offering competitive salaries, but not just that, benefits, opportunities to develop and progress. Take time to review last year’s staff schedules to identify peak and off-peak demand periods and absenteeism to get a head start. Invest in your employees and the results will come.
3. Collaborate with other social care providers, your local authority, regulators and trade groups to share best practises, resources and advocate for changes and government support to improve the resilience of the sector and in turn your business.
4. Regularly evaluate your services and identify areas for improvement. This can mean employing and independent a compliance consultant or undertaking mock audits and inspections. You should also ask service users, staff, and external stakeholders in providing feedback to ensure your services remain effective and meet the evolving needs of the community.
5. Embrace technology to streamline operations and improve efficiency. Explore digital solutions for tasks like scheduling, record keeping, and communication, which will automate administrative process. This can free up valuable staff time and enhance service delivery. Smart devices such as falls detection technology, movement detection sensors or even smart cups will also provide carers and residents with peace of mind and may prevent unnecessary visits. The use of technology is best achieved with comprehensive and integrated care management platforms. You can explore the benefits of these on our previous blog: The Power of Comprehensive Care Management Systems.

Call us if you would like to find out more!

We’ll focus on how the introduction of a comprehensive Care Management System (CMS) is a no-brainer and the first step to digitalisation.

Fragmented point solutions = multiple costs + inaccurate data and reporting…

If you have already taken the first step into digitisation, perhaps with a computerised staff rota or residents’ record system, you will know that these can have issues including:

1. The individual systems can rarely be synchronised, meaning that the same information must be inputted several times, increasing both staff time and the possibility of error.
2. Staff must be trained to use each system.
3. If the system develops a fault or you require support, each will have its own support desk, which will not/cannot communicate with others.
4. Each system must be paid for separately, meaning increased costs.

Paper based = lower costs, but inaccurate data and reporting + poor accessibility…

If your care business is still purely paper-based, the money saved by not ‘going digital’ is a false economy for several reasons:

• The digitalisation of the social care sector is, whilst lagging behind other sectors, on the horizon. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has made encouraging innovation an explicit priority in its strategy[1], and the NHS Long Term Plan (LTP)[2] published in 2019 contained the expectation that digitally enabled care should go mainstream across the NHS, and that all providers need to advance to a core level of digitalisation by 2024. Providers will need to ensure that their systems can integrate with the NHS; that they have the best possible CQC inspections; and that they are not left behind their competitors.
• Paper-based systems are costly in other ways – for example, staff time spent writing records, in some cases duplicating entries, difficulty in storing and tracking records, lack of automated analytics and reports; and management time spent collating the information required for an audit or CQC inspection.