The care home company Advinia is under investigation by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following concerns that the company is financially unstable, according to a report in The Guardian.
Documents leaked to The Guardian show that the CQC is concerned about the cash flow at the company and its ability to pay its debts. In late August, the CQC warned over 150 local authorities in England and Scotland that Advinia was not cooperating in a financial investigation and the CQC could not give the company a clean bill of financial health. The local authorities now have to decide whether to use the company as a provider or not.
Advinia’s 38 care homes look after around 3,000 elderly residents and employ 4,500 staff in England and Scotland. In April 2018, the company acquired 22 homes from BUPA and as a result became the 10th largest company in this sector in England.
The Guardian understands from the leaked documents that Advinia has been blocking the CQC from conducting an independent business review of its finances; the CQC has the legal powers to scrutinise a provider’s accounts if it “considers that there is a significant risk to financial sustainability”. If Advinia does not comply with the CQC request the company could lose its licence to operate.
Full story on The Lowdown, 11 October 2019.
