Care Dorset loses £400,000 in its first full year but says business is now looking better

The organisation which provides the adult social care service for Dorset Council made a loss of £400,000 in its first full year on revenues of more than £28 million.

Care Dorset estimates it spent up to £1 million investing in new systems and addressing poor quality issues from when Tricuro was contracted to provide services to the county’s adult care sector.

The arms-length organisation, wholly owned by Dorset Council, took over residential homes, day services and at-home care from Tricuro in October 2022.

In a report to the council, Care Dorset Managing Director Chris Best said despite the loss, the business is looking better with happier staff, good recruitment figures and good progress on its plans for the future.

It has also invested in new ventures.

Mr Best and Care Dorset chair Caroline Tapster told Dorset councillors that bed occupancy had improved from 76 per cent at the time of transfer to 92 per cent today with the recent creation of a ‘listening group’, which involved residents, examining complaints and making suggestions for further improvements.

Mr Best said that the cost of employing agency staff had been a ‘significant factor’ in the business loss but steps were being taken to reduce agency use, including having a bank of retained workers who could be called on when needed, together with re-arranging rotas and working patterns.

He said other aspects were also being looked at to make further savings, including cleaning services.