Scottish care home group, Renaissance Care, has announced plans to spend around £14 million on energy efficiency-focused refurbishments, while providing additional beds across its existing care home portfolio, as part of a post-pandemic investment drive over the next three years. 

Executive chairman, Robert Kilgour, announced the investment plans and confirmed ambitions to double the company’s size, as it looks to run 30 homes across Scotland after securing new multi-million-pound bank facilities and also gaining access to an initial £30m of additional acquisition funding.  

The group, which currently operates 16 care homes throughout Scotland with around 1,200 staff, will spend over £6 million over the next three years on major refurbishments, kitting out its existing care homes with lots of new windows, full LED lighting, improved insulation, new boilers, and better heating controls as part of an energy efficiency drive. 

Plans have also been revealed to spend £8 million, subject to gaining planning permission, on six major projects – adding a further 56 new bedrooms, amongst other related improvements, at six of its existing care homes. 

These moves are part of the group’s efforts to future proof the business and create a happy and safe environment for all residents and staff and to help with staff recruitment with currently around 60 vacancies across the group and in all disciplines. 

As it looks to further growth, Renaissance Care is also developing its people strategy to ensure a good pipeline of staff across its homes, while retaining the best talent across the sector. As part of the plans, the group recently announced a full cultural review across its 16 homes in response to exhaustion across the care sector following the pandemic. Staff across the homes will now be offered a range of new benefits including flexible working, a pay review across all roles, and a health and wellbeing package. 

The care home operator is additionally investing £500k on its operational management and accounting systems to improve administrative processing for all staff and to help it achieve its planned future growth and this also includes the rolling out of the Nourish e-care plan system across all its care homes. 

“This new investment is substantial but, in our view, vital in maintaining and improving the high standards at our homes,” said Kilgour.

“The last two years have been an incredibly tough time for residents, families and hard-working team members in care homes across the country and it is important to us that we provide the best possible care and facilities for our people. 

“Despite all that we have been through since the start of the pandemic, we remain very positive about the direction of the business and our future plans. 

“As we look to further growth, we are proceeding with our expansion plans to double the size of Renaissance Care across the country, becoming one of Scotland’s major care home operators. At the heart of that, we are investing, developing and working alongside our people, ensuring that we can attract and retain the very best of talent to instil a person-centred approach across each of our homes.” 

Renaissance Care has a strong people service strategy which focuses on learning and development for individual staff members, as well as the onus on creating a person-centred culture of inclusivity and care. 

Throughout the pandemic, Kilgour called for more support for care homes across the country. Last year, he spearheaded a group of the country’s leading care home operators who joined forces to help uncover answers to the many questions around the handling of the coronavirus pandemic in Scotland.