Advice to New Providers
Setting up a new care service can be daunting. Once you've completed your CQC registration, what do you do next?
On this page we've pulled together some advice for new adult social care providers, which we hope is useful.
Join your local care association
CQC considers membership of a local care association best practice as it is a vehicle to learn about issues and information that effect the care industry
Your local care association is a goldmine of information and advice. Your local care association runs regular events where you can network with other care providers and normally provides a range of services to help care providers run more efficiently
The West Midlands Care Association (WMCA) is one of the largest local care associations in England with nearly 600 members. We predominantly represent the SME sector and as an SME ourselves we understand the challenges of running a small business
We are a DBS Umbrella Organisation and offer discounted DBS to our members
If you are located outside of our footprint (County of the West Midlands, Herefordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire) we recommend that you join our colleague local care association in your area as they will have the local knowledge we do not. A full list of these can be found on the Care Association Alliance website
What we do
To find out more about what we do at West Midlands Care Assocation or to join us, just click the buttons below.
Marketing your Business
As a new business you will need to establish where your clients are coming from. Initially this is likely to be through word of mouth referrals.
Do not be frightened to tell everyone you know about what you are doing. You may be surprised about how much business can potentially come through friends and family.
It is highly unlikely that your local authority or neighbouring local authorities will award you business until they can can see that you have an established track record providing care so it is important that you look to establish a privately funded client base.
A healthy privately funded client base will also ensure that should or when you attract local authority business , you are not reliant on one income stream.
We run
workshops periodically on business tools which are well worth attending.
Branding
Establishing a brand can differentiate you in a crowded market but you should not spend huge amounts of time and money on it. You are not Coca Cola or Apple, the only person who cares about your brand is you but there is a lot to be said for a consistency of message.
Much more useful is showing a level of professionalism in how you present your business to the world.
- Build a Website
- Buy your own unique web addess (it needn't cost a lot)
- Use a professional email service and your own URL. Using an obvious generic service such as gmail gives the impression you are not a serious or established business.
- Use a VOIP telephone number instead of a mobile number (this way it can look like you have an office location even if you are operating out of your back bedroom)
- Build a social media presence
- Be consistent in your materials (same font, size, colours etc)
We have more advice on Marketing Care Businesses
here (requires members password )
Local Authority Contracts
The vast majority of Adult Social Care in England is commissioned through local authorities so they are an important source of potential business. However as a new business they are unlikely to award business to you until you have a proven track record.
Even once your business is established, there is no guarantee that a local authority will have work for you.
Tendering
Local Authorities usually commission their contracts through a tendering process. Most contracts run for a fixed period (often three years) during which time they may not be open to new entrants.
In order to satisfy public sector procurement rules, local authorities must be open with their tendering processes. All local authorties use some sort of tendering portal to publish new contracts. Our advice to new providers is to register on your local authority procurement portal plus the neighbouring ones (it is free to do so - if the portal requires a fee it is not the official council site) to ensure you hear of any new opportunities as they are published.
When you see an opportunity you will need to bid for it through the local authorities tendering system. This can sometimes be complicated. If you have never written a bid for a local authority tender we do have some
further advice on this website (requires WMCA Members Password).
What about the NHS?
NHS procurement operates in a very similar way to Local Authority procurement. That is to say they are unlikely to award business to new or inexperienced providers until you have proved that you can deliver care consistently.
As a public sector body they also have to adhere to strict rules and utilise tendering portals. NHS opportunities tend to be more specialised. NHS contracts are commissioned through Integrated Care Systems (ICSs), there are 4 ICSs within the WMCA geographic footprint (NHS Birmingham and Solihull ICS, NHS Black Country ICS, NHS Coventry and Warwickshire ICS and NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire ICS.
Data Security and Protection
As a new care provider, you’re going to store and share a lot of sensitive and valuable information about your clients, staff and business. That could include paper or digital health and care records, staff records, bank details and contracts.
As a minimum we suggest investing in a decent CRM platform so you can track customer interactions and also look at Digital Care Record Software (DSCR)
The West Midlands Care Association has lots of online advice about data security and procedures for Adult Social Care providers on our website
It is best practice (and also increasingly a contractual requirement) to annually complete the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT), details of which can be found on our website here
The Better Security, Better Care team at the Digital Care Hub have also produced a guide for new providers which can help you. It includes a free checklist of issues a new care service should consider, and it signposts you to free resources, templates and support.
VIdeo - Advice to new providers on Data Security and Protection
What is the DSPT?
The Data Security and Protection Tool Kit (DSPT) is an Online Assessment which all Care Providers who work with and access NHS patient data and systems (including NHS Mail) must complete annually.
The tool kit covers such areas as your privacy and data protection policies, how you store and backup data, how you secure mobile devices, business continuity in the event of a cyber incident and how you manage your IT security and support.
General Business Advice
As well as the areas we've mentioned above, we have lots of advice (and videos) on running a care business including:
- Business Continuity Planning
- Writing a Business Plan
- Cost Control
- Sources of Funding
- Going Green and Environmental Issues
- Marketing your business and building a private client base
- Tendering
- Recruiting and Retaining Staff
- Regulations
These resources and access to our regular events program of workshops, conferences and network opportunities are included within WMCA Membership
Join Us
To find out more about what we do at West Midlands Care Assocation or to join us, just click the button below.
