Care entrepreneur spreads agency across to North West

NURSING and social care agency Local Care Force is taking its expertise across the Pennines.

The firm is opening a third base in Manchester, with sites already well-established in Leeds and Sheffield.

Entrepreneur and LCF director Leanne Silverwood is anticipating 50% growth each quarter for the first year, and has already created 7 jobs, with 80 temporary nursing and social care staff already in work due to the firm.

LCF is launching in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, in the grade-II listed Sevendale House, under a team including Sarah Whitehead and Ben Morton, who oversees the social care team.

Their team of seven will look after more than 140 North West-based temporary nurses, care workers and support staff.

The site underwent major refurbishment last year with a bespoke training suite within its 1,753 sq ft ground space, which will also feature the work of Yorkshire graffiti artist Peter Barber.

LCF has a workforce of 1,200 people and has an annual turnover of £10m, and over the last decade has grown between 28% and 30% year-on-year.

The temporary nursing and care staff LCF provides deliver more than 19,000 hours per week of care to vulnerable people in Yorkshire.

Leanne Silverwood said: “We have a massive number of existing clients in Manchester, who have been asking for staff for the past 18 months, so we thought the time was right.

“It has also meant we could give back to staff, some of whom live in Manchester and travel to work here.

“Manchester is a bigger city with bigger hospitals, and the care sector is massive over there.

“Though the main thing we’re involved in is working with major charities and private psychiatric hospitals, we’re in talks with the NHS now to expand our reach even further.

“We’re embarking on massive recruitment drives on and marketing campaigns to help us expand there.”

One of LCF’s specialities is nursing, which Ms Silverwood said was a “primary target” over in Manchester. “We’re very good with nurses,”she said, “We have a really consistent and amazing team, with close links to the Royal College of Nurses.

“Current clients have welcomed us with open arms, but I’m surprised how much new business has come as well.

“We want to invest in the local workforce and help them gain experience.

“We want to invest in the local workforce and create careers for people who don’t have jobs. Experience in the industry doesn’t always matter, some people are really good natural carers and the training programme has been so successful in Yorkshire for people who wish to take their first steps in the profession, we’re rolling it out across our locations.”

Branch manager Sarah Whitehead said: “I am really excited to have opened our doors in the city and business is already doing really well.

“We have over 140 temporary workers on our books and myself and my team are both excited and prepared for what lies ahead.”

LCF was established in 2004 and is the preferred supplier of many large private, public and charitable organisations, providing temporary and permanent staffing solutions including fully trained and specialist qualified nurses through to complex health carers.