Advinia Healthcare Ltd is one of the biggest private care providers in the United Kingdom. Advinia operates 38 care homes and 3,250 beds across England and Scotland. The group specialises in complex dementia and Alzheimer’s care. The senior management works in partnership with staff, residents, family and social workers.
History
Advinia Health Care was founded in 1999 by Dr Sanjeev Kanoria, a liver transplant surgeon and former McKinsey consultant, and his wife Sangita Kanoria. Sanjeev is also the owner and deputy chairman of Austrian Anadi Bank. In 2011, the company acquired a number of under-performing care homes. In 2012, Advinia opened the first specialist unit for residents suffering from memory loss caused by alcohol abuse in the North East of England. They have similar units in London and Scotland. In February 2018, the company acquired a further 22 care homes, including 11 in Scotland, with 2,700 beds, from Bupa for an undisclosed amount. This saw the business grow by over 500 percent, putting the company in the top 10 private care providers in the UK. Advinia took over the employment of the 3,700 staff at the Bupa homes. As reported in 2019, the firm was under investigation by regulators, the latter stating Advenia Group was "failing to co-operate with a regulatory inquiry into its finances." The Guardian wrote that the Care Quality Commission "has become seriously concerned in recent months about the group’s cash flow and financial management, as well as its refusal to submit" to an independent audit of its finances. "Advinia’s submissions to the CQC...showed the company was not generating enough cash to meet capital and interest repayments in the next few months". Failure to comply may result in the revocation of its license.
Technology
In September 2018, Advinia Health Care will trial robots at its care homes through a £2.5m EU-funded partnership with the University of Bedfordshire. The Pepper robot, owned by Softbank, is equipped with artificial intelligence and able to recognise the needs and emotions of frail, elderly residents. The company is also developing new technology that will support care home managers in resident care, such as medicines management software and specialised recruitment and training modules.
