| Buying a care home or nursing home might not strike the average reader as the most obvious way to enter the business world. Residential care homes – in which elderly people can find support and a community when living independently has become too much of a struggle – may involve more responsibility than many sectors. It can be both rewarding and profitable, particularly in the case of the more specialised nursing homes, where fully qualified nurses will cater to the needs of mostly physically and mentally disabled residents.  | | CARE HOME SECTOR IS SET TO GROW | The preference for community-based care – allowing elderly people to remain in their homes for longer – has been a minor blow to the care home industry. With the proportion of elderly people in the UK continuing to grow, combined with the fact that younger people are making greater private provisions for their care when they pass retirement age, the sector looks set to grow astronomically. John Joyce of Redwoods has had experience of running a care home himself. He believes buyers fall into two groups. "It's necessary to have qualified and motivated staff." "On one hand, there are the ex-professionals, who have worked as nurses, social workers or even GPs, and are looking to run a business themselves," he explains. "On the other, there are those who are looking at care homes as a profitable business venture. In this case, it's absolutely necessary to have qualified and motivated staff." The latter tend to target the larger homes, where administration tends to be more of an issue. Meanwhile, owners of smaller homes tend to adopt a more hands-on approach for economic reasons. However, local authorities are unlikely to accept an application for registration from an individual without qualifications or some experience in health management or the caring professions. According to Joyce, care homes typically range from around the £400,000 mark to around £2m – although he adds that there will always be homes fetching below this range which have and can continue to make healthy profits. Care Standards Act 2000 Joyce has one major caution: "The care home sector has been the target of significant media attention over the past few years, and homes are now carefully monitored." Legislation mainly comes in the form of the Care Standards Act 2000, which established a National Care Standards Commission regulating the entire sector. The act generally specifies minimum standards for care homes relating to size of rooms and facilities. Unfortunately for new owners, there are rather more regulations for new homes compared to existing ones. This has made it slightly more difficult to convert existing property – even guest houses – into care homes. The act also covers the lifestyle residents can expect to enjoy, specifying aspects such as health, daily life and social facilities, environment and the quality of staffing – which are all intended to ensure that the physical and emotional needs of residents are met. However, on a more individual basis, it is essential to know and understand each of your residents' needs and problems, so that you can provide them with a home rather than a house. The days of care homes being joyless places stuffed with bored and unstimulated older folk are long gone. Today, day trips, light exercise programmes, library services and social events are all part of the agenda. Owners will also need to arrange visits from other essential services, such as hairdressers or dentists, on a regular basis. Word of mouth is the care home's lifeblood If you are establishing a new home or expanding an existing one, one of the largest problems is promotion or marketing – direct marketing is completely forbidden, although you can still advertise to health professionals via the Yellow Pages or specialist magazines. Word of mouth is the care home's lifeblood. Owners will have to network with the families and friends of residents as well as with local GPs, nurses and other health professionals – many of whom are often invited to open days to view the facilities and standard of care on offer. It is also normal practice to give prospective residents a free trial period of a few months to allow them to sample the home and decide whether it is suitable for them. It is important to remember that it is not just facilities, staff, and decor that attract people to a particular home. Location, as with any business, is vital. Homes close to the sea, to parks or other wide open spaces are always popular – as are properties in the traditional 'retirement' hotspots such as Eastbourne or the Isle of Wight. But popularity will come at a cost. However, as Joyce says, care homes can be lucrative businesses – but you need to have a heart too. “Most people want to run a home for moral as well as business reasons,” he adds. The national minimum standards for care homes can be found at http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/03/43/68/04034368.pdf
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