It has been less than a year since Claire Stanley joined Active Care Group as Head of Estates & Property and it would be fair to that she had to hit the ground running.
This highly progressive approach was one of the main factors that attracted Claire to Active Care Group, which provides a wide of services from a diverse portfolio of facilities spread across the UK from Glasgow down to Bristol in the west and London in the south-east. These include supported living properties, residential neuro-rehabilitation centres, children-dedicated facilities, as well as hospitals.
“It was obvious that Active Care Group were extremely serious in becoming the sector’s leading provider and were prepared to make the necessary investment to achieve this objective,” adds Claire. “This wasn’t just in terms of the bricks and mortar estate, but also with regards to recruitment and equipment. We offer highly innovative therapy that requires specialist facilities, so providing our staff with the tools they need is essential. To know the money is there to make the necessary investment and continually improve the quality of our offering has been great to see, even if it has meant a huge amount of hard work behind the scenes. My days have been going very quickly, I can tell you that, but that’s a good thing!
“There’s significant support from the board and the wider team. They’re fully behind every initiative that we identify to improve the service for our residents and the care they receive.”
Active Care Group’s desire to continually progress has remained undiminished throughout its 30-plus years of operation. It is now looking to increase its estate, which numbers over 60 different facilities, having just recently added three new sites in Blackburn in Lancashire. It also has plans to further strengthen its presence in its traditional heartland within the south of England.
With a blend of new and more established buildings, Active Care Group has a mixed approach to maintaining its estate, with some of the work being undertaken in-house, with the rest being looked after by third parties. This flexible approach gives the property managers the autonomy to make the most suitable decisions, allowing any reactive maintenance work to completed quickly and efficiently. This is assisted by the close working relationships that the Group has established with its partners.
For more substantial and complex CAPEX work, however, Claire with the support of her property managers, wider team and subject matter experts come up with the best solution.
“It’s a very exciting time for the business as there’s so much going on. That’s not to say it’s without its challenges, as the work is often carried out in live environments, which can be quite tricky. Thankfully the trusted the supply chain we’ve built up means we have some excellent people to rely on, even at very short notice.
“Looking forward, we have some interesting projects coming up, although I can’t say too much more at this stage. We’re definitely moving in the right direction, however, and it’s great that I get to play a part in the fantastic work that we do as an organisation, although most of the credit has to go to the phenomenal care staff that look after our residents day in and day out.”
As she nears what has been a very busy but ultimately extremely rewarding first year at Active Care Group, it sounds like the pace of progress won’t be relenting anytime soon for Claire. However, it’s clear that she wouldn’t want it any other way, as she continues to play a key role in the tremendous work the company carries out.
