A North East entrepreneur who has built up a business helping people with learning disabilities and autism is looking to pass on his knowledge to younger people looking to follow in his footsteps.
Nigel Devine set up Orbis Support in Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, three years ago, to offer support to people with disabilities wanting to live in their own homes.
Orbis supports adults and children facing a range of issues, including learning disabilities, autism, behavioural challenges, enduring mental health difficulties and physical disabilities.
READ MORE: {}
Plans for people’s needs are worked out through personal interviews as well as discussions with families and NHS representatives, and a team is then recruited.
The business has grown rapidly on the back of referrals from the NHS, local authorities and families of those who needed assistance, and now supports 18 people and Mr Devine remains personally involved with the support provided for each person.
Now, rather than continuing to grow the business to the point where the same level of pesonal involvement is not possible, he is looking to identify a number of younger people who he can help set up their own services.
Stephen Slater, commercial services director at RMT Accountants & Business Advisors, is working with Mr Devine on developing Orbis’s business structure as part of the project.
Mr Devine said: “The people and families with whom we’re working often face extremely complex and challenging situations, and our aim is to put measures in place which enables each person to live a fulfilling life in their local community.
Most Read
“The support model that we’ve developed has been proven to work time and time again, and the positive, long-term impact that it makes on their lives has been recognised time and again by the people we support, as well as by families and the care commissioners with which we work.
“We’re close to the number of people that we can support while retaining a meaningful personal relationship with them all, which is the fundamental principle on which the business’s success has been based.
“Demand is continuing to increase for the type of support we offer, but instead of simply expanding indiscriminately and moving away from what we know works, I want to widen the range of service providers that work to the standards that we have set.
More North East news
“We’re encouraging our existing staff to go for this opportunity themselves and would welcome interest from other people working in the health and social care. We want to support people with the same values and passion as we hold who are determined replicate the service standards we work to.
“RMT’s support is giving us the confidence to develop and enhance our operational structures and we’re seeing positive tangible outcomes resulting for our staff and the business in general.”
Mr Slater at RMT Accountants added: “Nigel and his team take a hugely-detailed approach to meeting some extremely challenging situations and they are setting the industry standard for how these services can be devised and delivered.
“We’re very pleased to be supporting Nigel’s drive towards broadening the implementation of his successful ways of working and to helping Orbis evolve as a business.”