Extension and refurbishment
to the reputation of the organisation than actually what you do to the fabric of the building and how much you modernise the building.”
Nonetheless, refreshing and updating
existing care homes is essential, particularly given the twin pressures of ever-changing regulatory requirements and resident expectations, particularly when it comes to the hot topic of environmental sustainability. I ask Shaleeza and Liakat about the role ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance standards) has to play in CHD’s continued development, and how the provider approaches the challenge of retrofitting older properties. Presumably, it is much easier to take sustainability into account in a new build? “It is a challenge,” Shaleeza admits. “Our
ESG strategy is very important to me. We’re putting in air source heat pumps, we’re putting in PV panels. I’m looking at how we can use food waste to create energy … Like you said, it’s easier when you’re doing a new build. When you’re retrofitting, you can’t do those things. There is no point getting rid of a gas boiler and putting in a heat pump when the fabric of the building isn’t designed for that. You’re just going to end up wasting your money. So it’s about how you think about sustainability in other clever ways – how are you creating a sustainable business without necessarily tackling the challenges of a sustainable building? “You then have a balance between the
theoretical science behind what you’re told a care home should do, and what is going to create a sustainable business, save costs, and be of importance to your future customer. Because people do care about how sustainable you are as a business,” she adds. Looking forward, CHD has decided to
We worked with our architects to create a sympathetic addition to the natural landscape
focus on new builds. “It depends on the opportunity,” Liakat explains, “but the strategy is to focus on new builds, as much as we can. So there is a shift happening, because we’ve found out how difficult it is to modernise and future-proof existing businesses, particularly if they are operational businesses. But if we come across an opportunity with a closed care home which has got easy potential to future-proof, then we would do it. Because it may look like a period building from the outside, but inside it would effectively be purpose-built.” Despite this shift in focus towards new builds, both Liakat and Shaleeza are adamant that the group will not expand rapidly, and will not be bringing in what Liakat refers to as “equity partners and all the rest of it.” Rather, the intention is for sustainable and steady expansion as the
right opportunities arise – most likely with a continuing focus on Surrey – to ensure that the family’s ethos remains strong across the provider’s portfolio. “We have so much influence in terms of culture and values,” says Shaleeza. “We don’t want those to get lost.”
Taking advantage of technology Trusting that older people will be happy and able to adapt to new technology is part of CHD’s approach to care, and Shaleeza demonstrates this by talking about the installation of non-concussive taps that are operated in a different way to ‘traditional’ taps and automatically switch off after a certain amount of time. She and Liakat are keen to push back against the idea that residents are unable to incorporate new technology into their lives, taking the view that older people are more resilient, more able, and more willing to adapt to change than many might give them credit for. “People adapt – everyone adapts,” says
Shaleeza. “Just because people are older doesn’t mean that they don’t have the ability to do that.” Indeed, Shaleeza has been keen to
keep CHD at the forefront of modern care technology.
“When Shaleeza joined the company, I think the first thing she did was put in electronic care management software,” says Liakat. “More recently, we’ve changed to a more modern version using Nourish, where staff carry tablets and put notes on tablets. Because it’s new technology, it can do so much more than the old technology used to
October 2024
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