Lodders Life Issue 10: Taylor & Taylor Care

Bespoke nursing care provider Taylor & Taylor Care operates four high-quality care homes located across Oxfordshire and Warwickshire, with a fifth home in the pipeline.

A family business, Taylor & Taylor Care is now in the hands of the second generation, with Charles Taylor taking the helm in 2020. Having joined the family business straight out of university, when it was owned and run by his parents, Charles has been immersed in all aspects of running the group from a young age, from operations and finances to management of the homes for the benefit of their residents. He works alongside his siblings who have also taken on roles within the business, all committed to upholding its reputation for excellence and ethos that blends quality of care with quality of life.

A research scientist by training, Charles had to shift his mindset and adapt his approach to business when starting out. He explains: “In the early days, I was focused on the logic behind the business and its operations, but quickly learnt that business is all about people – forming strong relationships and networks is crucial. I also quickly learned the value of letting people in when making senior decisions and openly communicating the vision for the business to build a team that truly believes in what they’re delivering.” 

Nurturing a well-connected culture

Esmere Gardens Nursing Home in Moreton-in-Marsh is Taylor & Taylor Care’s latest home. Newly constructed, it welcomed its first residents in spring 2024. Charles’ vision for the home was a place that bridges the gap between a care home and the local community. “My first experience of care was doing a Duke of Edinburgh volunteering session,” Charles says. “Back then, the idea of a care home conjured up an image of a dark building on a hill that your grandparents disappeared into, and the local community knew very little about. With our care homes, we like to build a strong connection with the community. Some of the ways we achieve this is by working with a local charity in each of our locations, holding fundraising events at our homes, and opening our doors to local people. In addition, we host various activities within our homes, including Parkinson’s groups, dementia cafes, and farming groups, allowing people to see the facilities first-hand as well as benefit from our staff’s expertise.”

Residents’ wellbeing

Through focusing on the following three elements of social care planning, Taylor & Taylor Care makes sure every day is fun and different for its residents:

• ‘Something to do.’

Facilitating vibrant and personalised activities that people genuinely enjoy, whether this is chess, watercolour painting, knitting, or something else.

• ‘Someone to love.’

Ensuring residents have the opportunity to form connections and remain close to friends and relatives. Sometimes this can be a Zoom call with family in the US, or other times a private family dining experience at the home. For celebratory events, its Savoy-trained chef provides families with their choice of menu and wine, and the family also have ownership of the space. Additionally, they can even pay a visit to our on-site ‘pub’, The King’s Arms, which evokes a comforting sense of British culture.

• ‘Something to look forward to.’

Arranging periodic, fun events that residents can look forward to and talk about for months afterwards. Across its care homes, the team has organised visits from farm animals, Shetland ponies, classic cars, and even army tanks. The goal is to make sure that there is something for everyone.

Innovating care

With the younger generation often comes a new, fresh vision for the family business that can help it to adapt to changing market conditions and even expand into other new areas. This is perfectly exemplified by Charles, who is spearheading Esmere Gardens’ Plus Ten Care healthcare platform. The innovation, designed by Taylor & Taylor Care, uses artificial intelligence (AI) to complement usual care methods and analyse residents’ health data to identify early signs of illness or deterioration, ultimately helping to inform decision-making and support better health outcomes.

Charles believes that if we use health data more effectively, people will live longer and healthier lives. “By leveraging health data, we can make better care decisions. Care currently relies on a very outdated system, whereby humans are required to spot issues. But this is highly subjective, and sometimes things can be missed. Sadly, infections like UTIs are often only identified when someone experiences a fall, so identifying and treating it before it gets to this point is crucial. Plus Ten Care uses wearable technologies to monitor where residents are in the building to identify any sudden shifts in movement patterns, which can be an indicator that something may be wrong. Carers can then explore the issue and make a judgement on the intervention required.”

“The platform will continue to evolve,” Charles adds. “It is very much an additive process, and we are looking to partner with universities to find out how we can utilise the data we collect.”

Stronger together

As well as heading up Taylor & Taylor Care’s technology drive, Charles is Chair of the Oxfordshire Care Homes Association, which represents over 60 care homes in the region. The voluntary role sees him engage with local NHS and councils to act as a voice for the care industry, facilitating wider strategic conversations on behalf of the region’s care homes, representing their interests and sharing good practice amongst members. Charles believes collaboration in the care sector is key. He concludes, “As care providers, we are all doing the same job, which is often a very difficult one. By getting together, asking questions of the regulators, and discussing possible solutions to the challenges we all face, we can have a real impact and collectively ensure we are delivering the very highest standards of care.”

Planning for the future at Taylor & Taylor Care

Recognising the importance of considering succession planning early on, especially as their care home portfolio develops and grows, the Taylor family enlisted the help of Lodders to restructure the financing of their existing homes, as well as the development of new ones like Esmere Gardens. At the same time, Lodders commenced the family’s succession planning, ensuring arrangements are in place to facilitate a prosperous and sustainable future.

Click here to read Lodders Life Issue 10 in full.