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Wow, what a year 2011 was for the Healthcare Sector!
Posted by Tim Godfrey on 1/11/2012
I think we all started the year in the hope that the sector was showing signs of resilience in the face of the global economic turmoil. Unfortunately this proved not to be the case.
We saw a rush of Dental clients completing their CQC registrations, the Health & Social Care Bill under pressure and Southern Cross collapse resulting in increased scrutiny of the Elderly Care sector.
Local authority fee rates for Adult Social Care came under closer inspection as challenges mount following the Pembrokeshire case with a number of Judicial reviews under way. We have been active in our local area working with providers and the PCT to calculate the “real cost of care” based on the increasing cost pressures and hope that this collaborative approach will filter through into a fee review for 2012/13.
The Castle Beck exposé brought learning disability front and centre culminating in Ministers ordering a program of unannounced inspections of 150 similar private and state run facilities. The report has found numerous failings with its findings being reported in recent days.
Andrew Lansley finally bowed to pressure in early December and ordered an independent enquiry into The Care Quality Commission. The National Audit Office said the CQC had not provided value for money for taxpayers and its failures had risked "unsafe or poor quality (patient) care". This is something to watch with interest in 2012 and underlines the anecdotal mumblings that clients are making regarding their subscription costs and lack of tangible interaction with inspectors!
Also in 2011 we saw the “Pause” in the Health & Social Care Bill resulting in (only) minor changes to Consortia, now Clinical Commissioning Group (CCGs), and an increase in the time line to implementation. However the basic principles remain the same.
As the year closed we noticed through our professional advisor network and our own internal recovery team that the number of struggling care homes increased significantly. Low interest rates have enabled some to survive longer than would normally have been the case but increased cost pressures and reduced occupancy levels are making it harder and harder for some to continue.
Even after taking all the above into account at BF our Healthcare clients in general continue to out perform National benchmarks and we remain positive that with the right guidance this will continue to be the case.
Why Bishop Fleming?
In a difficult and dynamic market it is important to have advisors who understand what is happening.
Our Healthcare Team now stretches from Truro to Worcester and more recently we have added a new office in Bath. This additional strength in depth allows us to cover a wide geographic area whilst continuing to offer quality local support.
The Specialist Healthcare Team offer all the services that you would expect for all business sizes.
From Tax mitigation to Accounts & Audit, from Payroll processing to Management accounts and where buying or selling our Corporate Finance team will help make the process as stress free as possible.
With annual Bench Marking Surveys and quarterly Newsletters we try and make sure our clients are kept up to date with things relevant to their business.
If one of your clients could benefit from a hands on approach please ring one of our team for a free no obligation initial consultation.
Happy New Year!
Tim Godfrey
Business Services Partner and Head of Healthcare
All information correct at time of posting.