Health charity launches social enterprise to run its contracted services

Finance | Vibeka Mair | 20 Apr 2012

Deafblind UK has transferred the management of its contracted services to a new social enterprise, one of two social enterprises which the charity has launched this week.

About Me (Care & Support Limited) will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Deafblind UK and will deliver specialist care and support services previously offered by the charity. It has been set up in response to an increasing demand to the charity from local authorities regarding care for people who are either deaf or blind. The organisation's range of service is geared towards enabling those with sensory impairments to live in the community, providing the individual with choices about how they want to live.

A separate new organisation, also being launched by Deafblind UK, is About Me Brokerage. Partly funded by the Department of Health to help deliver a brokerage service for people with disabilities in the United Kingdom, About Me Brokerage provides advice and support to help individuals gain control over the delivery of their care plans and navigate the personalisation model of service delivery.

Any surplus made by About Me will be reinvested back into the organisaton or gifted back to Deafblind UK.

Jeff Skipp, chief executive of Deafblind UK and About Me said: "Transferring the management of contracted services from Deafblind UK to About Me has very real advantages to the charity on an operational and funding level and will enable many more people to benefit from the expert services that we offer. It allows both parts of the organisation to focus on the elements of service delivery in which they excel.

"By launching these two new social enterprises, we will be able to reach many new users, whilst extending the range of services offered to provide an even greater level of choice and support for customers and increase opportunities for our staff. By developing more services, About Me will achieve greater economies of scale, delivering efficiency savings to be passed on to customers and local authorities alike."

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