Impact Report 2010/11

Contents

Our Mission, Our Objectives, Our Vision

Foreword from our Chairman and Managing Director

What we do and how we do it

Business Development

Home Support Services

Community Support Services

Our workforce - our greatest asset

Financial Picture

Page 1

Page 2 - 3

Page 4

Page 5

Page 6 - 7

Page 8 - 9

Page 10 - 11

Page 12 - 13

Statistics in this report refers to our Contractual Key Performance Indicators.

Our Mission Essex Cares offers high quality responsive services. We do this by upholding the highest standards in social care, and by delivering innovative services and the latest technologies which support and enable our customers to improve and enhance their lives.

Our Objectives • Delivering quality services relevant to our local customers and local communities – having at all times

a “can do” attitude

• Developing new commercial business – winning new contracts and attracting self funders

• Working with our health and social care partners to develop service and community solutions for our customers

• Providing flexible transformed business services to support our service delivery teams

Our VisionThrough innovation, forward thinking and imagination Essex Cares will create new progressive service options for all individuals requiring support to retain independence at home.

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Foreword from our Chairman, Sherry Malik (Shortlisted for the 2011 Asian Women of Achievement Awards)

This has been a year in which Essex Cares’ staff have designed and tested a new range of services which will improve the way in which support services have traditionally been delivered. We have done this by working closely with our customers and their carers and our Health and Social Care partners. People leaving hospital can be discharged home with a package of support, including any equipment they may need; our services on the high street mean that people can access advice, support and activities locally. Our aim is to reduce the number of formal assessments, and to coordinate and deliver a whole range of services through a single point of contact in an efficient and seamless manner. We will learn from our initial pilots and listen to those who have used the services to improve these services and in due course roll them out throughout Essex.

The economic challenges facing the country mean that we have to be able to offer the best value for money to those commissioning our services. In order to do this we are examining all our costs and ensure we focus on the right things. Our staff are our greatest asset and we will continue to invest in them. I pay tribute to our 950 members of staff, for many of them this is not just a job, it’s a vocation. Our customers and their carers time and again write in to tell us of the difference our staff have made to their lives or the lives of their loved ones. That is the ultimate test.

The year ahead is full of expectation for us – there is still much to do to make Essex Cares a strong and viable organisation. From developing new ways of supporting vulnerable people, to ensuring our buildings are fit for purpose, we have a lot of work ahead of us…..but we know where we are going and we are determined to get there!

Foreword from our Managing Director, Mark Lloyd Rather than producing a traditional annual report we have chosen instead to produce an Impact Report to demonstrate how we have made a difference to people’s lives. As Managing Director I am extremely proud of what Essex Cares has achieved during it’s first two years and I hope you find this report informative in learning about what we can offer.

During 2010/11 over 115,000 people across Essex had contact and support from Essex Cares to enable them to maintain and improve their independence with services designed to meet their needs and choices.

Formed in 2009 as the country’s first Adult Social Care Local Authority Trading Company (LATC) involving the transfer of services from the public sector, Essex Cares has been at the forefront of innovation and service modernisation. As a business we have adopted strong principles of social enterprise, in building and developing services for local community support to combine the best of the private and public sectors in services that are responsive to the fast changing health and social care agendas.

As part of this we are pleased in 2011 to have launched, and piloted our new service HomeSafe which is designed to offer a complete support service quickly into people’s homes covering home support,

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equipment, Telecare, and call centre support. We have also continued to set up innovative services in town centres including Bookrest Cafes within local libraries, run and used by our customers.

This report outlines some of our service achievements in our second year with comments from people who have used our services alongside information on how we have performed through the year through Key Performance Date collected.

Please take time to read our Impact Report and contact us if you need any further information or advice on what we can offer.

Comments from our Customer Lead Non-Executive Director, Clayton Beckwith

It gives me great pleasure to write a few words for this year’s Impact Report. As one of the Non-Executive Director’s on the Board of Essex Cares I have supported the managers and front line staff as the customer representative taking a particular interest in the work of our Community Services.

We support many individuals within numerous local communities across Essex to maintain and enrich their daily lives through our home and community support services. Our commitment to creating local solutions and services which support people to live their lives as they would want remains our over arching objective. As part of this process the voices, views and wishes of people who use our services remain central to all that we do.

the voices, views, and wishes of people who use

our services remains central to all that

we do3

What we do and how we do itWe deliver a broad range of services across health and social care, supporting people in their local communities. Our aim is to maintain and improve the quality of life that our customers lead by promoting and supporting independence. We help people regardless of health, disadvantage or disability to become or remain active in their community.

From over 50 locations across Essex we offer two types of support:

Our Community Support Services

Providing and supporting employment opportunities, social enterprise projects and a wide range of community based services through community based venues for adults in need of support in their lives.

Our Home Support Services

Providing care and support services directly into people’s homes to enable individuals to retain control over their daily living arrangements. Specific services include the provision of aids and adaptations, reablement and sensory services.

Helping people to become or remain active members of

their community

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Business Development We are constantly looking to design and develop new models of delivery which meet the following principles:

• Preventive – Services that offer early intervention and support to retain and enable customers to live independently

• Choice - Services that offer a menu of options and packages which our customers and their families can use to determine the best fit for their requirements linked to need and affordability

• Technologies – Services which are easily available through the internet (web portal) and which use the latest technologies for delivery and customer solutions including Telecare and Dementia technology options

• AccessibleandFriendly - Services that are easily accessible through initial enquiry and are delivered by friendly and helpful customer focused staff

• SpeedofResponse – Services that respond in fast timescales from first point of customer contact including immediate assessment and complete service delivery

• CommunityLed - Services which are part of, and influenced and shaped by, local communities to respond to local and individual needs

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Gary WrightBusiness Development Director

Home Support Services – A year of innovationThis year has seen the Home Support Services Division at the forefront of innovation in delivery services. We have worked with both health and social care partners to develop a range of new solutions including services for private individuals and personal budget holders.

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Jon ManzoniHome Support Director

100% of all customers were satisfied with the service that they received.

Crisis Response Service

Our Crisis Response Service provides equipment and support to individuals who urgently need help in order to avoid emergency hospital admissions. Support is provided via an individual, outcome focused support program. Assessment and support commences within 2 hours of initial referral and equipment is delivered and installed within 24 hours of our assessment.

Ward led accelerated discharge to Reablement

Improvingthepatientexperiencebyavoidingduplicationandspeedingupthedischargeprocess

Our Facilitators perform bedside Reablement Assessments on the hospital wards and suitable patients are then discharged directly to our Reablement team, who can provide up to 6 weeks of support at home to enable the individual to carry out tasks for themselves. Our programme reduces the number of assessments and avoids duplication of social care assessments. Over 65% of customers are self supporting at the end of our programme and less than 10% are re-admitted to hospital within the first 30 days of discharge.

HomeSafe – helping you live independently

Assessment,coordinationanddeliveryofawiderangeofservicesthoughasinglepointofcontact

We have designed a range of products and services which we offer through our HomeSafe Service to enable individuals to remain living independently in their own home and enjoy being active members of their local community.

Mobile Assessment and Enablement Service

Providing‘firstcontactresolution’enablingtheReablementProgrammetostartimmediately

Working together, our equipment and Reablement Services have developed a ‘mobile assessor service’ which combines the Reablement Assessment with the ability to assess for and deliver a range of equipment which supports independent living. By offering the assessment and equipment delivery within a single visit our customers are able to make an immediate start to the Reablement Programme.

80% of individuals referred to our Crisis Response service result in hospital admission avoidance 7

“Icouldn’tbemorepleasedwithEssexCares;they’vedonealotforme.Everythingthey’vedonedailyhasbeentohelpme,regardingwalkingandeverything.Idon'tknowwhattosayaboutthembecauseIcanonlysayonething…Theyhavebeenvery,verygood,very,veryhelpfulandtheyhavegotmebackonmyfeet.”Cynthia, Reablement Customer

“Ican'tspeakhighlyenoughoftheserviceI’vegotandtheequipmentI’vegotandtheserviceI’vehad.Ithasbeenreallygreat.I’vesufferedforacoupleofyearsnowandthisisthebestI’vefelt,soit’sniceformetoknowsomebodycares.”Roy, Equipment Customer”

Over the last year we have had a radical review as to how and where we support our customers; we have worked with customers and families to look at new community venues which are small locality hubs used as a base to access the community rather than as a centre for internal activities. So far we have developed bases in Witham and Clacton with Colchester and many more sites are in the pipeline. Customers are seeing a real difference already “I get to travel on the bus or walk here”; “I get to choose when I leave home as I live within walking distance”; “I get to meet friends as it is where we live”.

We have opened new work based training social enterprise coffee shops within Basildon and Brentwood libraries. These have raised the profile of adults with a learning disability within their community and promoted them as valued members of society. Working with the travel team at Essex County Council, many of our customers are now able to travel independently to the café giving them huge confidence for the future.

Community Support ServicesThis year has seen a massive step forward in how we are working with a person-centred focus across Community Support Services. Our staff have developed both personally and professionally to become enablers and supporters of people on their journey to achieve independence, choice and control.

Eachcustomerhasanindividualactionplanwhichisbuiltaroundtheirownhopes,needsandaspirations

A very shy young man who attended Treetops Catering Enterprise in Colchester has developed confidence as a result of his staff support and training for both him and his family. As a result of personal growth he was referred to Linked Employment, where he worked with a member of the team who secured him some opportunities to complete work tasters. He impressed his colleagues so much that he went on to secure paid employment in a well known food restaurant.

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Tracey GreatrexCommunity Support Director

Our new locality hubs allow customers to

access services safely within their own

communities

“There’snothingtobenervousof,likeIwasthefirstdayIcame.Ithought,ooh,I’mnotgoingtofeelrighttherewithallthosepeople,butIwenthomeandIwassohappy.I’dmetfourpeopleherethatI’dbeentalkingto.Ididn'tknowI’dgotavoice,beforeIcamehere,because

yousitathomeandthere’sno-onetotalkto.”Vi, Customer at Charles Dickens Court Day Centre in Chelmsford

Our Active Life Services including Beauty & Holistic Wellbeing and Arts & Therapy aim to enhance and enrich the quality of life for our customers within Day Services by tailoring activities that stimulate both body and mind, together with a focus on preventing a decline in their health and emotional wellbeing.

Within our Day Services, emphasis is geared to the individual’s aspirations and goals, and developing activity programmes that have purpose. All our customers have their agreed support plan in place within two days of attendance, and it is reviewed

twice a year. A customer expressed a wish to do DIY as he wasn’t able to do this at home. Since coming to the day centre he has rubbed down some wooden garden furniture, been assisted to the shops to choose a varnish and complete his project to produce some fantastic looking garden furniture. The gentleman has been transformed from someone very quiet and withdrawn into a more communicative, animated and happy individual and has already moved on to his next project – an old wooden book case.

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“IenjoyservingmealstocustomersatTreetopsandIlikewashingup.IsometimesgettogoshoppingwhichIenjoy.ByworkingatTreetopsIhavelearnthowtomakeasandwichformyselfathomeandthingslikesalad.IhavelotsoffriendsatTreetopsandwouldliketokeepcominghere.”Ian trains at both Treetops Café and the Bookrest Café in Colchester library

100% of new Customers have a written action plan within 10 working days of us working with them.

Striving to offer our customers more and more by introducing Active Life Services

Our workforce - our greatest asset!This is an overused cliché but for Essex Cares it really is true! As a renowned provider of Adult Social Care our frontline workers are our symbol of quality to our customers.

Our values and behaviours – known as Aspire reflect the behaviours that all who work for Essex Cares from the Chairman and Managing Director through to all our operational support staff work by. Our customers deserve the highest quality of care and it’s good to know that all employees share the same work ethos centred on respect, empathy and hard work.

Aspire stands for:

In our second year we have continued to build on our commitment to our staff. We achieved Investors in People status in February 2011 and are going on to be assessed for the Bronze level Investors in People this year. This achievement reflects our commitment to engage, reward and listen to staff.

We also have a thriving staff forum which meet regularly with the aim of linking with the Senior Management Team on issues such as changes and improvements to our services and consultation on new business developments. Of course the main benefit is communication and the forum is just one way that Essex Cares makes sure our staff are kept up to date with new business opportunities and changes in the Adult Care Sector.

We continue to make progress with reducing our absence rate and for June 2011 we are exceeding our target of 4% and have a rate of 3.4%. In June 2010 our rate was 4.5%, so this reduction is a real achievement and reflects the dedication of our staff to our customers.

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We are committed to encouraging more young people into the social care sector though apprenticeships

Liz RymellHead of Human Resources

This year we have been successful in being a national finalist in the Skills for Care Accolades Awards for the category ‘most effective recruitment campaign’. Our application was made based on our commitment to encouraging young people into the workforce through the Apprenticeship Scheme. This year our approach to encouraging young workers continues with recruitment to 10 Health and Social Care Apprenticeships throughout 2011.

One of our overarching objectives is for Essex Cares to become known as the employer of choice in the region with the reputation for quality and person-centred services. It is our valued employees who are the core of our business and the key to our success and they really are our greatest asset!

Our customers deserve the highest quality of care and it’s good to know

that all employees share the same work ethos centred on respect,

empathy and hard work.

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Our Financial PictureLast year was a very successful year for Essex Cares; we achieved a profit of £3.5m which was an improvement on 2009-2010. Also we now have cash in the bank whereas last year we had a large overdraft. The table below shows the key numbers:

So how did we do this?

• We spent less on buying replacement equipment for our equipment service than we thought we would. This was because we were better at refurbishing the equipment that was retuned to us.

• We signed a new agreement with our equipment customers which meant we didn’t have to put as much money aside for future losses on equipment.

• We saved more money on delivering our day-to-day services than we had expected. This was because we all have been taking more care in not spending money that we don’t need to spend.

• We got better at collecting money from our customers.

Because of our successful year, we were able to agree a dividend to our shareholder, Essex County Council.

In future we plan to invest more of our profits in growing the business. We are currently planning to spend money on systems that will allow our customers to get a more efficient service from us. Some of these projects are shown below:

• We are implementing a system which helps our reablement staff become more efficient in how they deliver their care.

• We will implement a better system of managing our equipment stock which will make it much easier for our customers to buy equipment from us.

• We are investing in our new service, “HomeSafe” which will allow customers to buy care and equipment from us directly rather than through the Council.

These things are just part of our plans to grow Essex Cares and to make our services even better at impacting the lives of our customers than we do at present.

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Investing in systems that will allow

customers to get a more efficient service

from us

IncomeCost of SalesGross ProfitOperating CostsProfit before taxTaxRetained Profit

Cash

38.4(9.2)29.2(25.8)

3.40.13.5

1.4

2010/11 £m

27.4(7.1)20.3(19.9)0.4(0.2)0.2

(1.6)

Profit and Loss Summary 9 months to 2009/10 £mSarah GarnerFinance Director

Our Income

Our income from the main contract with Essex County Council reduces over time as we are obliged to make “efficiency savings” worth around £1m per year.

We have increased our income from individual budget holders by 191% from last year.

We have also increased income from Handicrafts and Garden produce both of which have contributed nearly £5k to the total profits.

The income generated from meals, snacks and beverages in our café’s exceeded budget by £180k, contributing over £350k to the total income.

In the future, we plan to reduce our reliance on Essex County Council by winning contracts outside of Essex and with private funders and individual budget holders.

Our Costs

We have reduced our costs significantly from the previous year by focussing harder on what we are spending and by not spending money unnecessarily.

We recognised quickly after our launch that we could save more than was originally planned and we have delivered efficiencies well above expectations.

In the future we plan to continue to do this as we continue to respond to the difficult economic environment.

Further information and copies of accounts can be obtained from:

Finance Team, Essex Cares Limited, 69 Duke StreetChelmsford, Essex CM1 1JA

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Equipment

Sta�

Property

Admin and Overhead

Reablement

Equipment

Other Home Support Services

Day Services

Social Enterprise trading services

Supported Employment

Other Community Support Services

Other Income

Our Board of Directors Lead RolesSherry Malik, Chairman Training & Staff DevelopmentPhilip George, Non-Executive Director Audit & Home Support ServicesClayton Beckwith, Non-Executive Director Customer RepresentativeWendy Grafton, Non-Executive Director Audit & HomeSafeCliff Broadhurst, Non-Executive Director Audit & Community ServicesDoctor Caroline Dollery, Non-Executive Director Quality Assurance

Executive Management TeamMark Lloyd, Managing DirectorSarah Garner, Finance and Commercial DirectorGary Wright, Business Development DirectorJon Manzoni, Home Support DirectorTracey Greatrex, Community Support DirectorLiz Rymell, Head of Human Resources

Appointed Auditors: Grant ThorntonGrant Thornton HouseMelton Street, Euston SquareLondon NW1 2EP

www.essexcares.orginfo@essexcares.org01245 434 925

Essex Cares Limited: Registered in England and Wales Co No 06723149

Working with:

Accreditations

Health and Social Care Awards 2009 shortlisted finalistsNational finalists for Skills for Care Accolades Awards 2010 – Most Effective Recruitment campaignEssex Cares is accredited Investors in people and ISO 14001 and 18001 in Health & Safety Information and Systems Management.

Download our free Essex Cares iPhone application for detailed information on our services.

Appointed Solicitors: Birkett LongNumber OneLegg StreetChelmsfordCM1 1 JS