Care home owners Dhan and Sham Ramjuttun are taking their services into the community with a home care business. “People ask why we are doing this but we think the question should be 'Why not? rather than 'Why?'”, says Dhan.

Dhan and Sham own four residential care homes in North Manchester, all of which have earned 'Good' CQC ratings, but in March  this year the couple also launched a domiciliary care service, as owners of the Walfinch Greater Manchester South home care franchise.

“Offering both residential and domiciliary care expands clients' choices when it comes to buying care, and it means that they can move into, or out of, residential care, while still receiving services from people they know and trust,” says Dhan.

It also makes sense from a business point of view, he says. “There are great synergies. Demand for home care is huge, and this move means we can help meet that. It will mean we are known to home care clients who may want to move into a residential home.

“More care home owners should look at expanding into community home care services this way.”  

Practical advantages. 

“A common problem faced by new domiciliary care providers is that they   can easily attract clients, but have not got enough carers to serve them. We already have staff working in our care homes who want more hours, so we can offer them extra work in the new home care service,” says Dhan. It means we can expand steadily without worrying so much about recruiting new home care staff.” 

Dhan and Sham both have extensive experience in care. Dhan worked for 25 years in the NHS as a mental health nurse practitioner, including working on the community, while Sham has a nursing background in  public and private settings. They opened the first of their care homes in 2008.

“That means we already have extensive know-how when it comes to standards and quality of care, running care teams, and working in the community,” says Sham. “We have been looking at opening a domiciliary service for a while.”

Why a franchise?

Given their care and business experience, Dhan and Sham could have started a home care business on their own – but they choose to expand with a franchise. Why?

Many reasons, says Sham. “We could have done it ourselves, but investing in a franchise makes it easier, especially as Walfinch Greater Manchester South was available as a business resale, so it was up and running.

“A franchise comes with a name that is already known in the community, and we felt it was better value for money, because it would have cost us more in time and money to set it up ourselves. It comes with a ready-made website, extensive franchisee support services and with over 30 other Walfinch offices across country, you have a nationally-known name.”

Why Walfinch? 

Dhan says: “It's an up-and-coming name in the care sector, and when I spoke to Chief Executive Amrit Dhaliwal, it was clear that we shared the same ethos of delivering the highest quality care based on a solid financial model.”

The area covered by the franchise was a draw too: “South Manchester is an affluent area and we knew there would be demand for the highest quality care. We are moving to the area ourselves, so we will soon know the area well and will be on hand to meet local clients and carers,” says Dhan. The couple are also considering open a care home in the area, extending their care home locations to include South Manchester.

Another draw was the expertise offered by Walfinch. 

“Our experience in care homes is obviously valuable in running our new business, but running a care home and delivering domiciliary care are very  different,” says Dhan. “It helps a lot that we understand the care requirements but it's valuable to have the help and experience of Walfinch when it comes to delivery.”

The couple have also recruited a care manager. “She chose to work with us because she already knew our background in care and also feels we understand the business, especially with the backing of the Walfinch franchise team,” says Sham. 

They currently have four staff and five clients but expect to grow the service across South Manchester, and perhaps in future to expand into North Manchester, around their care homes. 

Dhan says: “I am convinced this combination of care homes and community home care could be a way forward for many care suppliers, and that doing this with an established franchise such as Walfinch makes it easier to achieve.”