CAREMARK

bfa Full Member

Providing a professional and personal home care service

Caremark is a well-established and highly successful brand, respected by GPs, consultants, hospital managers, NHS Trust operators, local authorities and social services throughout the UK and Ireland.

Their home care business formula provides people with the option to receive excellent care at home in a form tailored to the needs of the individual. Specialised home care from qualified and experienced carers also helps alleviate pressure on limited NHS resources. Most importantly, clients benefit from being looked after in the comfort and security of their own homes. The care and support they receive can help them to enjoy a fuller, happier life.

Due to people living longer these days, there is a steadily growing demand for health care for our increasingly aged population.

There is also a developing awareness that care at home can benefit not only the individuals in need, but hospitals and other organisations that are responsible for looking after them. As a franchise owner, you can give people a much higher quality of life and help them to become more motivated to recover from or cope with their medical issues. The provision of dedicated home care can also lead to older people needing fewer visits to hospital, which helps to free up beds and staff.

Healthcare is a highly regulated industry, with high standards that have to be checked regularly and met consistently. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) acts as the industry regulator for all businesses in this specialised sector.

Key factors affecting the marketplace:

Caremark CEO Kevin Lewis set up a rest home in Brighton in 1987. The success of this business led to social services inviting him to diversify into the provision of home care in 1993. Rapid growth followed and the business soon became a major provider in the area. Kevin realised there was a need throughout the UK for the specialised care service methodology that he had developed. His approach, supported by robust policies and procedures, made it viable for attentive care to be delivered efficiently on a national scale via home care franchises. From 1995 to 2001, Kevin built a UK-wide network of successful franchise owners, and became the UK market leader and then his company was bought by a major PLC. Many people would have stopped at that point, but Kevin's desire to improve standards and access for customers in this field led him to launch Caremark in 2005. They now have over 75 branches in the UK.

Basic Information:

Skills and knowledge required

The home care business is a combination of best professional care provision, together with exceptional customer service.

Although experience of working in the care sector is not essential, you will need to have a genuine passion for ensuring that excellent care is provided to a variety of people, with needs ranging from learning and physical disabilities to the difficulties of old age.

Their franchise owners come from a wide variety of backgrounds. No business experience or particular abilities are necessary to take advantage of this franchise opportunity, apart from general management skills and a reasonable standard of education.

The key attributes you will need to become a Caremark franchise owner:

Initial training is provided followed by long term support.