Making a choice about a care home is often something considered
in a crisis, perhaps after an illness or fall, or loss of a
carer. Many look back and wish they had given more consideration
to this.
It’s
a good idea to do some planning now, especially if you or
a member of your family might need residential care
in the future. This way you will know what to do if the need
arises.
A good starting point is talking with friends and relatives
to see if they can recommend a good home. Your Doctor will
also be able to advise you and your local Social Services will
be able to give you a list of registered care homes in your
area.
The Elderly Accommodation Council provides lists of care homes
in most areas and if you are looking for a nursing home, the
Registered Nursing Home Association will provide a list of
these.
We all know that choosing care for someone you love can be
a tough and emotional decision. You can seek support and advice
from the Relatives and Residents Association. A list of phone
numbers will be provided at the end of this article for all
the associations mentioned within.
You can find out a great deal about an individual home by
viewing inspection reports and will find links to the Care
Standards regulating bodies at the end of the article.
Most people find that choosing a care home, whether residential
or nursing, is very similar to choosing any place to live and
that within minutes you know whether it feels right or not.
To help
you decide, we’ve listed some questions to consider
when looking for a care home. It’s useful to jot down
all those, which are important to you before your visit. To
access this list click here
Once you have chosen your care home, the next step is to contact
them so that they can assess your needs. This is to ensure
that they can offer you the right kind of care. Contact the
home direct if you will be paying all the fees yourself.
However if you need all or part of the fees to be paid by
the local authority, you will need to speak to your GP first
and also the local Social Services, who will assess your needs
and develop a care-plan.
If you think that care homes are for the wealthy only, then
you will be shocked to hear that over seventy percent of residents
in care homes have their charges paid partly or fully by their
local authority.
Phone numbers: -
o The Elderly
Accommodation Counsel – 0207 820 1343
o The Registered Nursing Home Association – 0121 454
2511
o The Relatives and Residents Association – 020 7359
8136
Websites to view inspection reports of individual homes: -
o England – The
Commission for Social Care Inspection http://www.csci.org.uk
o Wales – The Care Standards Inspectorate - http://www.csiw.wales.uk
o Scotland – The Scottish Commission for the Regulation
of Care http://www.carecommission.com
