Welcome
As we approach the festive season, I find myself reflecting on the past year and on the incredible journey that we have shared together at Renaissance Care. This time of year brings a wonderful opportunity to express gratitude and appreciation for all that we have accomplished together as a caring family.
To all our dedicated staff, your unwavering commitment and compassion have been nothing short of inspiring. Each day, you bring warmth, care, and professionalism to your roles, ensuring that our residents throughout Scotland feel loved and valued. I assure you that all your hard work does not go unnoticed, and I am profoundly grateful for the personal sacrifices that you make every day to provide a safe and nurturing home for all those in our care. It is your kindness and dedication that truly makes a difference in the lives of all our residents, helping them to feel at home and cherished.
To all the families, relatives and friends of our residents, thank you all for placing your trust in us. We understand the challenges that come with finding the right care for your
loved ones, and we are honoured to be a part of their lives. Your continued support, understanding, and collaboration are invaluable to us. Together, we create a network of care that enriches the lives of our residents and fosters a real and valued sense of community and belonging.
Personal highlights for me during this last very eventful year have been our superb May Celebration event in Glasgow to mark our 20th anniversary and the welcoming of Benvie Care Home in Dundee to our Renaissance Care family in October with the addition of two further care homes imminent. I remain positive about our future
Warmest regards, Dr. Robert D. Kilgour, Chairman
“Thank you for being an essential part of our community and for your continued dedication to our residents.”
growth and development despite the increasingly difficult and challenging environment for social care.
As we gather to celebrate this Christmas, let us remember the joy that comes from togetherness. This season will bring moments of reflection, laughter, and love. I encourage each of you to take some time to connect with one another, to share stories, and to celebrate the bonds that we have formed.
Let us also remember those who may be experiencing loneliness or hardship during this time. Together, we can spread kindness and compassion beyond our walls, reaching out to those in need within our communities.
Looking ahead to the new year, let us carry forward the spirit of compassion and resilience that defines us. We have faced many challenges, but with each challenge comes an opportunity for growth and improvement. Together, we will continue to endeavour and strive to enhance the quality of care that we provide, ensuring that our residents feel fully supported and properly valued.
In closing, I wish you all a Merry Christmas filled with joy, peace, and happiness. May the coming new year bring us all health, prosperity, and the strength to continue our important work.
So, I can’t quite believe it’s that time again – another year that has flown by! It’s always very thought provoking, looking back on the last 12 months and what is in store for the year ahead.
Anya
Neilson, People Services Director
Growth + Development
In 2024 we have seen various changes made by external bodies /agencies that have affected our people/sector:
• The SSSC made changes to registration for social care staff relating to registration application timescales as well as requiring completion of an annual declaration. In 2025 there will also be changes to timescales to meet qualification conditions as well as a consultation on registration fees.
• UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) made changes to the Dependent Visa rules and have been rolling out eVisas, which are replacing physical immigration documents. Anyone who uses a physical immigration document to evidence their immigration rights in the UK and who does not already have a UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) account will need to take action (www.gov.uk/eVisa).
• Changes in employment law, such as the right to make a flexible working request and prevention of sexual harassment within the workplace. We have a zero-tolerance stance on any form of bullying or harassment.
I think it is fair to say that 2025 will bring some more changes with the new Labour government committed to an agenda for change which will undoubtedly have an impact on our HR practices. This is something we will be keeping a close eye on and will communicate any updates on this as well as any other relevant changes that affect you.
As you know we have experienced further growth this year with the addition of Benvie Care Home and we can expect this trend to continue into 2025 – keeping us all busy! As a team we have an important role to play in the smooth transition of new services into the group. We are currently recruiting another HR Adviser who will enhance the existing team, providing support during periods of change/ growth and with the continued delivery of our People Strategy through 2025. Margaret Caldwell also recently joined our team from another department as Compliance Manager which is also a key role, especially as we grow.
Our ongoing commitment to your health and wellbeing remains a priority and a focus throughout the People Strategy and in all that we do. Recognising awareness days on topics such as stress, mental health and menopause is one of the ways in which we demonstrate this and will continue to next year. We will also be building on our people development and engagement opportunities –we know that our people are our biggest asset and want your voice to be heard. We will also be looking at ways to utilise new and existing technology/ platforms, such as Evolve, to enhance our service and make it easier to access/ share information across the group.
I think that just leaves me to finish by wishing you and your families a very Merry Christmas and all the best in 2025
Reflecting on a Remarkable 2024 and looking forward to 2025
This year we celebrated our 20th anniversary and as we approach the end of 2024, we find ourselves reflecting on a year that has tested us, but also strengthened us in countless ways. Despite facing numerous challenges, we have successfully navigated through them and now stand prepared and excited for what 2025 holds.
One of the most unforgettable highlights of this year was our Celebration Event in Glasgow. It was a moment to honour our incredible people and the outstanding work across all our Homes. With a theme of "The Greatest Showman," it reflected our values perfectly and was an event filled with fun and inclusivity, it also had an electric atmosphere! Huge applause goes to Kirstene and Nichaela for organising this event – they sure know how to throw a party!
October marked a milestone for us as we welcomed Benvie Care Home in Dundee to our group, expanding our total number of Homes to 18. Our growth strategy remains robust, and with confidence, I look forward to welcoming even more Homes over the next 12 months. It’s been exciting to witness our expansion and to see each new Home integrate well into Renaissance Care.
As part of this transition, I had the privilege of managing Benvie Care Home for three months, an experience that rekindled my passion for the care sector. It’s been a while since I held a Home Manager role, and stepping back into those shoes reminded me of the immense dedication required by each person of a care home every day. The experience helped reconnect and remind me of what’s really important within care: forming meaningful connections and leading and supporting teams to achieving their best. The moments I spent with residents and their families truly reinforced the significance of the work we do.
This year, we've also welcomed many exceptional new team members, including Tracey, our new Quality Manager, Sarah, Manager at Rosepark, and Lynne, Manager at Cowdray, among others. Additionally, we’ve celebrated internal successes, such as Liza-Marie stepping up from Deputy to Manager at Meadowlark and Phil Stuart being promoted to Operations Manager. Our commitment to people development remains strong, as we invest in
our people pathways to nurture talent and promote from within. Congratulations to all who have achieved new milestones this year!
Another area where we’ve made impressive strides is in integrating new technology. From Nourish to Silent Nurse Calls and PainChek, these innovations are now enhancing care delivery across most of our Homes. Benvie Care Home currently uses a PCS system and will soon integrate the addition of PainChek. Depensys is a staffing assessment tool, helping bring efficiencies to homes, we will soon roll this out to the entire group. Our new maintenance platform, although a significant undertaking to embed, has helped transformed our operations and governance throughout the group. This progress is a testament to our commitment to continuous improvement.
Looking ahead to 2025, we know that challenges will persist, but I have absolute confidence in our ability to rise and overcome. Delivering the highest quality care remains our
Louise Barnett, Managing Director
top priority. Yvonne and the Quality Team have worked hard to align our practices with the care inspectorate’s self-assessment framework, we are preparing to relaunch an updated quality framework to support our goals and meet resident needs.
Our operational focus on occupancy, agency, and staffing will be even more crucial in the year ahead. Controlling these costs, and placing emphasis on enquiry management, helps us manage rising operating costs with income generated being reinvest back into our Homes and our people. This year, we completed refurbishments at Beech Manor, Meadowlark, and Wyndwell, with exciting upgrade plans for Glencairn on the horizon.
Reflecting on 2024, I am incredibly proud of all we’ve accomplished together. Every success and achievement is the result of countless hours of dedication, hard work, and passion from each of you. The talent and commitment of our Renaissance Care team is what makes reaching our ambitious goals possible.
Thank you for everything you’ve done this year. Wishing you all a joyful and restful holiday season. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Operations
2024 Overview
From an Operations perspective, 2024 has been a year filled with a range experiences. We’ve celebrated incredible achievements, with some homes earning an increase in grades, praise, and recognition from Care Inspectorate visits. At the same time, we’ve faced challenges that required significant effort, dedication, and hard work to address and improve. Through this, we’re very proud of the knowledge, skill and expertise our people have brought to our homes.
Each year, we strive to identify key themes that the Care Inspectorate focuses on during their visits. We aim to share this knowledge across our teams to help everyone best prepare for upcoming inspections. Here are some of the main findings from 2024:
• Self-Evaluation: This year, selfevaluation has been a major focus. Our services have fully embraced this
new process, with home managers working collaboratively with their teams and stakeholders to assess strengths and areas for improvement. This proactive approach has enabled us to identify opportunities for enhancement without relying solely on external scrutiny.
• Core Assurances Checklist: The Care Inspectorate introduced a Core Assurances checklist, which outlines essential standards for ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our residents. Every home has completed a thorough self-assessment using this checklist, ensuring these practices are in place and well understood.
• Safer Staffing Legislation: This new legislation has helped us thoroughly evaluate staff dependency, skill mix, and allocation. It’s also reinforced the importance of staff wellbeing and the support structures we have in place, ensuring our teams are well-prepared and cared for.
• Meaningful Connections SelfEvaluation: As part of Anne’s Law, we’ve implemented this selfevaluation to ensure our homes provide residents with a sense of purpose and meaningful daily engagement. This focus will remain a priority as we head into 2025.
Amid these challenges, we’ve also celebrated some remarkable achievements in 2024, such as:
• PainChek Rollout: This has transformed how we manage and support residents’ pain, leading to breakthrough outcomes that significantly enhance quality of life.
• Silent Nurse Call Systems: Nearly complete, this rollout has reduced stress and distress by minimising unnecessary noise levels. It also gives home managers valuable data to ensure residents’ needs are being met quickly.
• Home Refurbishments: We’ve invested in significant refurbishments at Beech Manor,
Wyndwell, and Meadowlark, transforming these spaces into warm, comfortable, and homely environments in collaboration with residents and families.
• Quality Focus on Key Topics: Our commitment to training and skill enhancement has paid off, leading to improved clinical outcomes, reduced falls, and better overall health and wellbeing for our residents.
Looking forward to 2025, we have more exciting plans. One key project is the implementation of Dependsys, a staffing tool that measures dependency levels. This tool will help us allocate staff more effectively, ensuring that support is available when residents need it most and allowing us to remain flexible and efficient in our approach to work/life balance.
Thank you all for your hard work, dedication, and passion throughout 2024. I look forward to continuing to work closely with you all in what we hope is a very successful and rewarding 2025.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year when it comes.
Yvonne Richardson, Operations Director
OUR YEAR IN NUMBERS
92% Average occupancy
797
care homes (1 new one this year) 18 residents in our care
1,400staff
Liam Bain, Finance Director
286
Finance update
1,004 hrs of danceSing
Like for many businesses, 2024 has proven to be an interesting year financially for Renaissance Care. A year which has not been without its challenges, but one which has also seen some positive steps forward.
We started the year with inflation (CPI) at 3.9%. Food inflation, however, was at 9.2% and this had a significant impact on food costs during 2024. Whilst it has been stubbornly slow to reduce, latest figures show food inflation at 1.6%, which is much improved.
In February 2024, we took advantage of a dip in the wholesale gas markets to fix our new 2025/26 energy contracts. Time will tell whether this was the right decision, but we at least have budget certainty on our gas prices for the next two years.
Occupancy
“Occupancy performance was good during the year, rallying after a dip in early summer, to finish ahead of last year.”
Occupancy performance was good during the year, rallying after a dip in early summer, to finish ahead of last year.
Holding our occupancy levels high has enabled us to invest £1.6m back into the homes this year. Whilst inevitably, much of this has to go into the “back of house” areas, such as boilers and lifts, it has been really pleasing to see more invested into the resident’s environment, with Beech Manor, Meadowlark and Wyndwell benefitting from refurbishment this year. We have also carried out an extensive upgrade programme to the flooring across the estate.
At the start of 2024, our intention was to add 2 or 3 new homes to the Group. Unfortunately, this has not been possible for various reasons, but it was great to bring Benvie Care Home onboard before the end of the year, and we have a strong pipeline for 2025.
Turning to 2025, I write this update a couple of weeks after the UK Government Budget. The politics of events like these are for each individual to form their own opinion on, and I believe the important thing for us as a business, is to review the challenges in front of us, and to plan a way through. It goes without saying that the combination of the Employer NIC rate increase and the lowering of the Employer NIC starting band has a significant impact on Renaissance Care, given we employ around 1,400 people. To put this into context, these two changes alone have a combined impact on the group of around £750,000. It is not clear
yet how much of these increases will be funded through increases in the National Care Home Contract rate for 2025, but as a sector, we are lobbying hard to make sure that government understand the impact this has on the sector, and its ability to invest in its homes, people and residents.
At the moment, in the absence of any factual information, it is a case of planning for the worst, and hoping for the best. I am confident however, that the investments we have made in our people and technology over the last couple of years, put us in a stronger position to navigate this than many of our peers.
I am very much looking forward to what 2025 has to bring, however before this, I wish everyone a very happy Christmas and New Year.
CELEBRATING ACHIEVEMENTS
Basketball with the Caledonian Gladiators
Visiting the museum
Beech Manor dancing Jesmond tennis
OUR ACHIEVEMENTS
TO NAME A FEW...
Support Scotland at the Euros
Jesmond
Cowdray boxing
Beech Manor walking
Before&after
BEECH MANOR CARE HOME
BAR AREA
ACTIVITY ROOM
DINING ROOM
MEADOWLARK CARE HOME
CAFE
WYNDWELL CARE HOME
DINING ROOM
BAR AREA
LOUNGE
VALUES IN ACTION2024
Throughout 2024, we've seen our values shine across our homes every single day. Whether it was supporting one another through challenging times or inspections, stepping in to cover shifts, engaging with residents, or going above and beyond in your roles, our people have truly embodied our core values.
So far this year, these acts of kindness have been recognised an impressive 85 times through our reward and recognition programme and we’ve issued out 383 long-service awards. These photos capture just a glimpse of the well-deserved rewards distributed throughout the year.
A huge congratulations and thank you to everyone for your incredible dedication and hard work.