Care Homes
Care Home owners face an increasing variety of management, economic and regulatory issues.
Our team is well placed to help with these.
We can advise on:
Business issues
- buying and selling care homes
- corporate structuring and financing
- conduct claims against care home operators
- logos and copyright
- employer's liability and public liability
- health & safety
- debt recovery
- advising on the structure and corporate governance of charitable care homes including public benefit assessment and Charity Commission regulation
Property issues
- extensions to and alterations of care homes
- planning matters
- environmental matters
- property/neighbour disputes
- building contracts and construction disputes
Employment issues
- recruitment / migrant workers
- terms of employment
- employee rights
- disputes
- termination of employment
- TUPE transfers
We are also able to assist residents in their general and financial affairs and with their care assessments. For further information please visit Legal Services for the Elderly.
Care homes news
- The Dilnot Report: Fairer care funding - Reforming the funding of adult social care
- Nearly 1000 care homes are without a registered manager, says regulator
- Dame Jo Williams has been confirmed as the new chairman of the Care Quality Commission (CQC)
Her appointment follows a report of the House of Commons Health Committee which endorsed her appointment.
Dame Jo has been CQC's interim chair since 1 February this year and Health Secretary Andrew Lansley had nominated her for the permanent post in July.
In endorsing her appointment to the role, the committee has invited Dame Jo to appear before them again in summer 2011 to review the commission's work. - Home-based care and Human Rights
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has said older people receiving care and support in their own homes are "acutely vulnerable" to human rights violations and the duties and responsibilities of those providing or regulating the care and support system were far from clear.
"Against a backdrop of budget cuts and public sector reform, local authorities are playing an ever-decreasing role as direct providers for voluntary sector organisations or individuals." - Nursing homes "fail" in care standards
It has been reported in an overview of council-funded care services that nursing homes for elderly residents in London were among the worst for quality of care, with nearly one in five rated "adequate" or "poor".
The worst homes failed to give patients their medicine, provided poor quality meals and fell short of basic standards for hygiene. The Care Quality Commission is warning that whilst the quality of most residential and nursing homes has improved in the last two years, services are still patchy and face an uncertain future as funding is cut. - Mental Health Act report
CQC have published their report on how the Mental Health Act was used during the year from April 2009 to March 2010 and identifies key themes. For more information, click here. - CQC report on the adult social care market
CQC have undertaken a national analysis of the adult social care market and now published a report of their findings. They have summarised these as follows:
In an assessment of the market to the year ending 30 September 2010 83% of care homes, home care services, nursing agencies and shared lives schemes were rated good or excellent compared to 69% in 2008.
There is stability and provision in the adult social care market but further growth will be needed to meet future needs.
People are increasingly being supported to live independantly and in their homes.
Year on year Councils are commissioning better care homes and home care services.
