This Month's Articles: Healthcare Review, 'Royal' seal of approval for Shipley Care Home!, Maintaining a Safe Environment, An ill wind blowing some good? |
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Healthcare Review |
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The Care Quality Commission is currently undertaking a review of how well the healthcare needs of people in care homes are being met. The review looks at people of all ages as well as their needs and dependencies. |
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The CQC will examine whether people in care homes have equal access to NHS services; have choice and control over their healthcare; and receive healthcare that is safe and respects their dignity. |
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They will also look at how: care is planned and assessed; health is promoted; people are referred to NHS services; health services charge for treatment; consent issues are addressed; and healthcare treatment is delivered in partnership with other services. |
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The review will be comprehensive and will examine the provision of community health services to care homes as well as the input from general practitioners to care homes. It will also look at the role of Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) and councils as commissioner. |
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Of more interest to operators, however, will be the CQC’s review of the role of the care home itself in healthcare, including the skills of staff in terms of carrying out delegated healthcare tasks. |
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Any home not up to date with its training may find itself under the spotlight, as the first stage of the review is to identify which areas of the country are most at risk of poor performance using existing national data. |
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| Article by Pinders Director Steve Marriott |
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'Royal' seal of approval for Shipley Care Home!
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Elderthorpe Residential Home in Shipley has just opened its new EMI wing as part of a £770,000 extension and refurbishment project. The opening ceremony was performed by a lookalike of the Queen, who was a big hit with the residents. |
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| The extension and refurbishment was project managed by Pinders, and saw the size of the home increase by 30%, and from 16 beds to 28, of which 20 beds will be for people with dementia. |
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The scheme’s design includes excellent features to help people with dementia, physical disabilities and limited mobility, and every new bedroom has a wheelchair-friendly WC and shower en suite. |
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The scheme was completed in just under seven months, at the competitive price of £984 per sq m. |
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Much of the work had to be undertaken with residents in place, which was where Pinders' expertise really helped. The project was very carefully planned so that the home could continue operating safely and with the minimum disruption to residents. |
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To see how Pinders can help you to extend, refurbish or modernise your care home, please click on the link for your free Design to Delivery guide. |
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| Article by Ken Birch |
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Maintaining a Safe Environment |
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According to the Health & Safety Executive, between April and September 2009, nearly three-quarters of fatalities in construction occurred in the repair/refurbishment and maintenance sector. In addition, in the first six months of 2009/2010, three-quarters of construction deaths were on smaller sites. |
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Building work clearly poses several hazards, including the risk of falls from roofing, and these dangers are magnified by non-unionised sites and the temptation to cut costs when under pressure. Clients proposing refurbishment would be well advised to consider their liability in using unqualified property managers and the 'cheapest' non-VAT-charging DIY maintenance man to look after their business premises. If an accident occurs because the person was not qualified or experienced enough to undertake the work, or sufficient precautions were not put in place, the HSE will prosecute the proprietor and this could lead to a custodial sentence. |
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Pinders are able to provide clients with a Maintenance Management Plan, including advice on Health & Safety and the procurement of competent contractors. We service a number of organisations through our appointment as Term Surveyors and Construction (Design & Management) Co-ordinators. The HSE has identified that the CDM process works, reducing deaths on construction sites as a consequence, and in this way, we are able to protect clients and their business. |
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| Article by Pinders Director Simon Coats |
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An ill wind blowing some good? |
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As the harshness of winter melted into an unusually warm and sunny spring, the working populace of the country started to turn their minds to summer holidays, with one of the key issues concerning hoteliers, leisure business owners and tourists being the choice between foreign travel and 'staycations'. |
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The Icelandic volcano eruption could prove a lucky break for resorts focusing on UK based tourism, as the fear of welching insurance companies may prevent budget-conscious travellers from risking venturing too far afield. Whilst any issue with airline security can also prove harmful for foreign visitors, it is unlikely that the Americas or Far East trade would be particularly affected unless their own domestic flights are also disrupted significantly. |
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This could be a boon to the still very tough hotel market, as any business for sale or refinance needs to be able to prove income and so any boost in the figures can only assist. |
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The London market is seeing growth with an increasing pace and whilst the regions tend to follow, the timing of this is currently uncertain, as business users are still at a premium and consequently able to drive hard bargains on room rates. Occupancy levels, however, are close to stabilising and the UK still has the highest number of hotel bedrooms in active development in Europe, which suggests the long term is still viewed with optimism. |
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Whilst the prospect of benign weather over the summer is positive for the UK tourist industry, what is equally apparent at present is that the continual lack of consistency from commercial lenders is a deterrent to purchasers and refinancers. This, coupled with hesitancy from prospective purchasers regarding the political direction facing the country, means that volumes of completed deals are still significantly lower than normally expected, which can result in greater valuation uncertainty. |
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However, some deals are still being done and Pinders are seeing a relatively consistent level of multipliers being applicable over recent months, following the large reductions of 2008 and early 2009, with no sign of a 'double dip' occurring at present. |
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Therefore despite the current, hopefully short term, uncertainties, optimism regarding the sector remains for a more sustainable future - subject, of course, to Bank lending policies. |
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