IN this week’s SME Focus we hear how a veteran of the care homes industry found the growing regulatory burden on the sector prompted her to move into the IT systems development business.

Name?

Sheena Caplan.

Age?

53.

What is your business called?

Planning for Care.

Where is it based?

Greenock.

What service does it offer?

Care management solution for care homes and nurses. The challenges facing everyone in the nursing and care industry are growing exponentially with constant changes in law, increased regulation and the potential threat of litigation. I founded Planning for Care with the aim of trying to help solve many of the issues encountered by owners, nurses, key workers and carers working in Care Homes for the elderly through the development of a time-saving management tool. Our solution helps save time spent on writing up paper work, to create detailed and individualised nursing care plans quickly, and helps to manage time more effectively.

Whom does it sell to?

Our online management solution is specially designed to assist Care Home operators meet the relevant Care Inspectorate or Care Quality Commission (CQC) requirements and standards with care plans, policies and procedures. Inspectors want a Care Plan to be individual, person-centred, comprehensive and legible. Our Care Plan templates assist every nurse, key worker, or carer to prepare a detailed, individual, comprehensive, person-centred care plan for each resident.

What is its turnover?

£50,000.

How many employees?

Two.

When was it formed?

2012.

Why did you take the plunge?

Regulatory changes in the Care Home profession created a requirement for Care Plans, and as there were no existing online solutions available, I decided to develop my own.

What were you doing before you took the plunge?

My father was a property developer and around 1981 because of the increase in demand for elderly care he decided to invest in a care home. I worked as a carer whilst studying for my degree in biological sciences. It was then that I discovered that I really loved working with the elderly so, when I finished university, I started my nursing training and moved back to Ayr, where I worked in various elderly care units. The plan was always to work for my dad when I had finished my training.

I really enjoyed managing my father’s care home, making a real difference to elderly people with varying disabilities, then an opportunity came up to buy a home in Sanquhar. Over time we changed it from being a residential home to a nursing home, which meant that the elderly residents could be cared for there, rather than being moved somewhere else as they became frailer.

We expanded and bought a nursing home in Port Glasgow, extending it from 25 to 47 beds and then we invested in another care home which we extended from 26 beds to 48. At that time I was running three nursing homes then bought Altnacraig Care Home, the only one I still operate today.

I was enjoying being responsible for the operation of just one nursing home when the Care Inspectorate introduced the grading system. I experienced real difficulties evidencing and proving to them that Altnacraig was providing excellent care.

This really pushed me to create all the paperwork and documentation I needed to ensure that the inspectors were entirely happy. This gave me the idea of creating Planning for Care to help other Care Homes and nurses and improve the care being provided to the elderly.

Together with my management team, I set about developing an online management tool to achieve just this and, after 18 months, we introduced it to the market. Our care management tool undergoes a process of continual development and improvement.

What was your biggest break?

The introduction of the grading of Care Homes by the Care Inspectorate created a need for Care Plans. After developing an online template to help manage my own Care Home I realised that there was a demand for such a product from other homes.

What was your worst moment?

The breakup of my marriage in 2000 and operating care homes whilst raising a family of three young children.

What do you most enjoy about running the business?

Making improvements to residents’ quality of life. Caring can be an incredibly rewarding profession.

What do you least enjoy?

The drive to work from the south side of Glasgow to Greenock!

What are your ambitions for the firm?

Our business plan is to double our turnover within 12 months and triple it within 18 months – and we’re already ahead of target.

What are your top priorities?

To grow the business organically by building our client base throughout the UK through aggressive marketing of our solution across various platforms to our target markets.

What could the Westminster government and/or Scottish government do that would most help?

A more stable regulatory framework would enable the sector within which we operate to plan ahead more meaningfully to the benefit of all but, in particular, end users.

What was the most valuable lesson you learned?

To keep my head down and keep working away.

How do you relax?

I used to be an amateur jockey and I still enjoy riding. I also enjoy reading.