What is a Domiciliary (Home) Care Agency?
It is a business where your company provides personal care and support within an individual’s own home. Your services can cover any or all of these: personal care, housekeeping, dietary and nutrition, complex care etc.
What Are the Benefits of Starting a Healthcare Agency Business?
It is fantastic that you are thinking of starting a healthcare agency business. Without a doubt, it is the first step towards big returns and financial freedom. Below are some of the benefits that come when starting a healthcare agency business:
The fastest growing age group
- In the UK, by 2024, the over 65 age group is expected to rise to more than 20% of the population.
- The rapid growth of the ageing demographic is projected to be more than five times the growth of the working.
- By 2024 there will be more over 65 year olds than under 15 year olds.
- An ever-increasing life expectancy is projected to be more than 85 years for women by 2026.
- An ageing population equals an increase in age-related conditions requiring help on a daily basis.
Dementia rates are soaring
- In the UK, dementia causes more disability in later life than cancer, cardiovascular diseases and strokes. One in six over the age of 80 has dementia and the trend is set to rise from the current level of 850,000 to over one million people living with dementia in the UK by 2025. By 2051, that will double to two million.
- Many dementia sufferers remain living at home and, even if they have support from family and spouses, they need additional specialist care.
Promoting independent living
- Government initiatives aim to promote independent living and to encourage people to be cared for in their own home, but in a society where families are not always on hand locally for support, the reliance falls on trusted care solutions to provide this support.
A demand for services
- All the above equates to an increase in demand for services to care for the ageing population and the resulting strain on public sector healthcare services. In turn, this increases the demand for private care.
- To facilitate the explosive growth, the home care market and related services are currently estimated at £5.2 billion and are only going to grow to keep up with the unprecedented demand.
Why invest in a home care business?
In brief:
- The home care market is facing unprecedented growth with a rapidly increasing ageing population.
- Independent living at home is promoted by the government and the public sector cannot keep up.
- The care business is non-seasonal, which makes for sustained cash flow and easy financial planning.
-
Home care is considered recession-proof as it is a need and not a luxury.
Domiciliary (Home) Care Agency
While home care is a growing field with strong profit potential, it also demands a lot of care and forethought. Even though your business is essentially an agency working without medical facility walls, you are still providing regulated services, which come with significant risk exposure. In order to succeed, you have to take many steps to lay the right foundation for your business.
As an agency that provides a regulated activity, you are required by law to register with the relevant regulator within the country you are operating. These are: the Care Inspectorate in Scotland, the Care & Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) in Wales and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in England. To get started, it is essential to have the right policies and procedures in place to ensure that you successfully register with the regulator, and are able to pass future inspections. You have to adhere to several regulations.
When starting any new business, there are many things to consider and many pitfalls to avoid. Launching a domiciliary care agency can arguably be an even more daunting task, with the added burden of registering with the Care Quality Commission.
At Care Agency Media, we provide our clients with the tools and the resources they need to start and run a successful home care agency business.
Some things you have to consider when setting up a Domiciliary Care agency include:
- Company Registration
- Branding your business
- Business Planning
- Government regulations etc.
- Policies & Procedures
- Registration with CQC, CSSIW or SCSWIS: both your agency and you
- Registered Manager
- Operations Management
- Recruitment, induction and training
- Marketing & Marketing Material
- Technology
- Rota Management Systems
- Care Management Systems
- Payroll and VAT
- Website & Email
- Social Media Set-up & Management
- Accounting & Reporting
- Forms and Documents
- Compliance Set-up & Management
- Disclosure Barring Service (DBS)
- Funding – tendering, direct payments,
- Cashflow
- Staff Uniforms
- Staff ID Cards/ Badges
- Staff Training
Get Started
At Care Agency Media, through our start-up packages, we help you set up a great healthcare temporary staffing agency which you will run with minimal frustrations.
