Care Homes in the UK in Bedfordshire in Berkshire in Blaenau Gwent in Bridgend (Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr) in Bristol in Buckinghamshire in Caerphilly (Caerffili) in Cambridgeshire in Cardiff (Caerdydd) in Carmarthenshire (Sir Gaerfyrddin) in Ceredigion in Cheshire in Conwy in Cornwall in Cumbria in Denbighshire (Sir Ddinbych) in Derbyshire in Devon in Dorset in Durham in East Riding of Yorkshire in East Sussex in Essex in Flintshire (Sir y Fflint) in Gloucestershire in Greater Manchester in Gwynedd in Hampshire in Herefordshire in Hertfordshire in Isle of Anglesea (Ynys Môn) in Kent in Lancashire in Leicestershire in Lincolnshire in London (North East) in London (North) in London (South East) in London (South West) in London (West) in Merseyside in Merthyr Tydfil (Merthyr Tudful) in Monmouthshire (Sir Fynwy) in Neath Port Talbot in Newport (Casnewydd) in Norfolk in North Yorkshire in Northamptonshire in Northumberland in Nottinghamshire in Oxfordshire in Pembrokeshire (Sir Benfro) in Powys in Rhondda Cynon Taff in Rutland in Shropshire in Somerset in South Yorkshire in Staffordshire in Suffolk in Surrey in Swansea (Abertawe) in Torfaen (Tor-faen) in Tyne and Wear in Vale of Glamorgan (Bro Morgannwg) in Warwickshire in West Midlands in West Sussex in West Yorkshire in Wiltshire in Worcestershire in Wrexham (Wrecsam)

Introduction to Care Homes

Choosing where to receive the care you require can be a daunting task, particularly as it often involves leaving a home with which you are familiar and in which you may lived for many years. Whenever we choose a new place to live, we do so on the basis of a mixture of logic and emotion. Logic dictates where it should be and how close to family and friends etc. The emotional element is based on whether or not it feels like home.

Written information and brochures can tell you about the practical issues but the “feeling of the place” is something you must establish for yourself. The key advice is to visit the homes which meet your practical requirements. Prepare a list of the issues which concern you and don’t be afraid to ask questions. You will find care providers more than happy to discuss your needs and concerns.

Many of us have preconceptions about care homes and sadly, the image of care provision has not been well presented in the media. Television programmes and press articles tend to focus on the sensational and all too often it is the occasional problems which are highlighted. The vast majority of homes providing high standards and first class care are simply not newsworthy.

Everyone has their own idea of what is nice, what suits them and what meets their own preference. The question therefore needs to be “does it suit me?” and in this respect there is no right or wrong answer.

Who Provides Care?
There are three principal providers of residential and nursing care. Most local authorities own and operate homes of their own although the numbers of places they provide have declined over recent years. The voluntary and charitable sector provides a relatively small but important provision and the largest group is the independent or private sector.

How Do I Measure the Quality of a Home?
The difficulty with quality is that it can mean different things to different people and therefore it is extremely difficult to measure.
All establishments providing residential or nursing care have to be registered with the authorities and comply with the prevailing regulations. This ensures that the home complies with the requirements of health and safety, staffing levels, hygiene, drug administration and accepted good practice.
Homes are inspected regularly and the latest inspection report is available by asking the owner, manager or via the Care Quality Commission. It should however be remembered that the inspection process tends to examine systems and procedures rather than caring.

How Much Will It Cost?
The cost of care will vary between homes and across each region of the country. Although cost is an important consideration, affordability is perhaps the more significant issue and getting advice on benefit entitlement and how best to manage finances is crucially important. The CareAware Helpline can assist in this regard.
With the requirement for higher standards, increasing wage levels and rising operating costs, care fee inflation can be an issue and so it is also important to consider the future situation, particularly if the care need increases. Demographic trends suggest that more of us will need residential care in the future and with home closures continuing, the availability of care beds can be expected to reduce and this in turn may lead to higher prices.

Are There Specialist Homes?
Some homes offer specialised care services. This may range from homes which provide male or female only accommodation to those which cater for particular problems and difficulties.

How to Find Potential Homes
Some people are aware of the home they would prefer, perhaps through a recommendation or because a friend was resident there. However, many face the prospect of making a selection from scratch. The local authority will provide a listing of all registered homes and there are the traditional information sources such as Yellow Pages etc. In addition, many homes are part of local regional or national care associations who produce directories and listings.

An alternative is the Care Quality Commission which took over from the Commission for Social Care Inspection on 1st April 2009.
www.cqc.org.uk or 03000 616161.

CareAware Edition 04.09
Caring Solutions for Age Old Problems
www.careaware.co.uk

Leaving Your Home

What to look for Leaving your home and familiar surroundings to move into a care home is a big step. It is important to consider your choices carefully before making a decision about where to move. All care homes in England are registered and inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), formerly the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI). The CQC regulates health and adult social care services in England. CQC carries out inspections to make sure that each care home is meeting essential standards of quality and safety.

Is a care home right for you?

Before deciding to go into a care home, have you considered whether it is possible for you to stay in your own home?

• Have you contacted your local social services department and asked them to assess your needs for services such as home care, meals, day care or respite care?
• Have you been in touch with your GP to make sure a medical assessment of your needs has been carried out?
• Have you been in touch with organisations such as your local Age Concern to see if there is any way they can support you or perhaps tell you about social activities in your area?
• If you are finding your current home difficult to manage, have you considered a move to sheltered/retirement housing or Extra Care Housing?
• If you are finding the stairs, bath or toilet hard to manage, have you asked your local social services department if they can provide useful equipment?
• If your house needs repairs or alterations, have you asked your local Home Improvement Agency or council housing department whether there are any grants available?
• If you are finding it difficult to manage financially, have you contacted the Pensions Service, the Housing Benefit section of your local authority or organisations such as the Citizens Advice Bureau or Age Concern to see whether you are receiving all the benefits to which you are entitled?

Types of Homes

Care homes providing personal care vary in size and facilities. All are expected to provide a room, meals, help with personal care such as dressing, supervision of medication, companionship and someone on call at night. Care homes providing personal care give care during normal short illnesses but do not provide constant nursing care.

Care homes providing nursing care also vary in size and facilities, but all provide personal and nursing care 24 hours a day for people who are bedridden, very frail or have a medical condition or illness that means they need regular attention from a nurse. There is always a qualified nurse on duty.

Older people diagnosed with dementia may need a care home with an additional category of registration (DE). These were previously known as EMI homes.

Care homes may be owned and operated by private individuals, companies owning groups of homes, not for profit organisations and local authority social services departments. All care homes in England are registered and inspected by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI). In Scotland this is the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care and in Wales, the Care Standards Inspectorate for Wales. Local authorities still retain responsibility for homes in Northern Ireland. Inspection reports are available from the home or the relevant authority.

Respite Care

Short term care or intermediate care is usually available in a care home, but possibly at home with the assistance of professional carers. You may consider respite care for a number of reasons:

• to build up your strength after a stay in hospital,
• after a stay in hospital, while you are waiting to move somewhere permanent;
• to have a break, or to give your carers a break, or;
• to see whether you would like to live in the care home permanently.

(See the respite care and day services section for more information)

Choosing a care home

If you can afford to pay your own fees you can choose a home and make your own arrangements. Before making any arrangements, it is a good idea to ask for a local authority assessment of need, particularly if you may need help with the fees at some point in the future. If you are paying your own fees, the care home must provide a written contract at the time you move into the home. If possible, try and arrange a trial stay in a home before making a final decision.

Finding a care home

You can call EAC’s free Advice Line on 020 7820 1343, search directly on-line at www.HousingCare.org or email at enquiries@eac.org.uk

Paying for a care home

Fully funded NHS care: People with very high nursing or medical needs may qualify to have their care fully funded by the NHS under the Continuing Care criteria.

Care homes vary in cost. Depending on the location and services provided, the fees can vary from about £300 a week to £1,000 or more for a home providing nursing care.

If you need help towards the cost of a care home you must first contact your local social services department and ask for an assessment of your needs. This will tell you whether you meet the authority’s criteria for a care home and how much the authority will ‘normally’ pay for someone with your assessed care needs. You are also advised to contact the social services department if there is any chance you may need financial help towards the cost of fees in the future.

For further advice and written information on funding care contact EAC’s free Advice Line on 020 7820 1343 or at enquiries@eac.org.uk. ©EAC Oct 2005