Allied Healthcare
Nestor Primecare Services Limited, also known as Allied Healthcare,[1] was the UK's largest domiciliary care business and a leading provider of outsourced healthcare services to the English primary care sector.[2] In 2018 Nestor Primecare Service went into Creditors' Voluntary Liquidation ("CVL") and liquidators were appointed. Private equity firm Twenty20 Capital acquired Allied Healthcare and merged it with its existing homecare brand (CRG Homecare). HCRG Care Group (part of Twenty20) eventually sold CRG Homecare and Allied Healthcare to Cera Care.
History
[edit]Allied Healthcare started in 1972, with a nursing home in Staffordshire and in 2011 when it was acquired by Saga group it had 140 branches across the UK and Ireland.[3][4]
In December 2015, Saga agreed to sell Allied Healthcare to Aurelius Group, a mid-market, pan-european investor.[2].[5]
Nestor Primecare Services Ltd., registered in Stafford, was the legal entity behind the Allied Healthcare brand. It also provides Out-of-hours services.[6]
On 21 April 2018, Allied Healthcare announced it would seek a Company Voluntary Arrangement to protect itself from creditors due to a "highly challenging environment", through it would continue to operate without redundancies.[7] In November 2018 the Care Quality Commission issued a notice saying it had serious doubts about the future of the business and warned local authorities that they might have to intervene. The company said this was "premature and unwarranted" as they had secured further funding support.[8] It subsequently announced it was exploring the sale or transition of services to alternative providers, including the transfer of staff.[9] In November 2018 Nestor Primecare went into administration, it terminated its contract for the out-of-hours service in Birmingham in November 2018. The service was taken over by the Badger GP-run out-of-hours and urgent care cooperative.[10]
In December 2018, significant parts of CRG Homecare and Allied Health care business was acquired by Health Care Resourcing Group(HCRG) from Aurelius. HCRG a specialist healthcare recruitment agency, took over any remaining care contracts at that time and in April 2020 the remaining Nestor Primecare business ceased trading and was wound up.[11]
In 2023 Cera Care acquired CRG Homecare and Allied Healthcare from HCRG.[12]
Legal action
[edit]In October 2014 Allied Healthcare, then owned by Saga, was ordered to pay the legal costs of Elaine Fernandez, a nurse who was awarded more than £80,000 by an employment tribunal in 2013. It ruled she was unfairly dismissed and suffered detriment for making protected whistleblowing disclosures. The tribunal said the company had pursued a "defensive position" that was "unreasonably hostile". She had raised concerns after Hywel Dda Health Board which commissioned the company to provide nursing care for a disabled patient decided to replace nurses with healthcare assistants.[13]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Report on Nestor Primecare Services Limited". Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Care Quality Commission. 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
- ^ a b "Press release London, 1 December 2015" (Press release). Aurelius. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
- ^ "Highly challenging' environment sees Allied Healthcare seek rescue plan". Homecare. Retrieved 2018-06-21.
- ^ "Allied Healthcare International Inc. to Be Acquired by Saga Group Limited". Market wired. 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ "The "GOOD HOME" for companies". Aurelius Group. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
- ^ "CCGs braced for care firm collapse". Health Service Journal. 27 April 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
- ^ "Allied Healthcare: Home care provider seeks rescue plan". BBC News. 21 April 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
- ^ "Major home care provider future 'at risk'". BBC. 6 November 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
- ^ "Allied Healthcare to transfer care contracts". BBC. 16 November 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
- ^ "GP co-op takes over out-of-hours for 300,000 patients after provider collapse". Pulse. 3 December 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
- ^ "CRG saves Allied Healthcare and vows not to break up home care portfolio". Homecare co uk. 3 December 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
- ^ Cera (2023). "CRG is now part of Cera". Archived from the original on 27 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ "Whistleblowing nurse receives £80k payout". Nursing Times. 7 October 2014. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2018.