24 CARE HOME PROFESSIONAL | August 2019
THE BIG INTERVIEW PAUL NEWMAN, CEO, GREENSLEEVES CARE
like them to be a lot higher but it’s
about making sure you have a balanced
approach to your finances and are
sustainable in the long run.”
Staff turnover at the not for profit is
21%, or around 10 percentage points
below the sector average.
Agency staff account for 8% of
working hours.
“Our agency use has come down over
the last couple of years,” Paul said.
“We have had to work hard at it
but it is still too much as far as I am
concerned.
“It’s not because of the cost; it’s
because I firmly believe it’s easier to
deliver high quality care if you know
your staff and train them and they are
delivering to the standards you expect.
It’s about continuity of care.
“We have worked with an agency
across all our homes to make our
approach more structured.”
The CEO said a third of the charity’s
homes had never used agency with
a further third using it occasionally
and a final third who he described as
“serial users” who operate in a tough
local market and have not got on top ofrecruiting for their vacant hours.
“It isn’t necessarily down to the
manager not doing their job,” Paul
added. “It’s the tight local conditions.
It might be NHS competition. It might
be another provider who has moved in
and is offering higher rates. We had that
with one competitor but within two
months staff were coming back because
their values did not fit with how they
were used to being treated and what
their expectations were.”
Paul said there were many variables
necessary to achieving high quality
care at Greensleeves’ homes, of which
low agency usage was one factor.
While noting the provider’s three
outstanding homes used no or low
agency, he added there were others with
no agency that remained challenged.
“It is much easier for a registered
manager and provider to achieve
outstanding traits if you have a
longstanding cohort of staff who
have mutual trust, who have worked
together and bonded and don’t let each
other down and feel part of that team
and that community,” Paul added.
Best practice is shared amongGreensleeves Care homes through
quarterly home manager meetings.
The charity’s internal Centre for
Quality also helps to achieve outstanding
outcomes by bringing staff together
from different parts of the business.
“All of our homes have a quality
improvement plan that incorporates
both positive and negative feedback
and evidences how they are seeking to
improve themselves,” Paul said.
“It’s trying to embed a culture of
continuous quality improvement and
ensuring that every day is better than
yesterday. It’s the small steps that get
you there. There’s a focus on quality in
care as well as all our processes.
“We are constantly challenging what
we do and looking at how we can improve
it. The Greensleeves Care of today is
vastly different to what we looked like
and how we operated six years ago when
I arrived. It’s about getting everyone
prepared to take risks. As long as you
assess that risk and you still think it’s
safe, then crack on and do it. You might
get it wrong but at least you tried.”
The Greensleeves Care boss said
there was no single formula forLounge area at Lavender Fields in Sevenoaks