How do I pick the right care home?

Realising that you are now at a point where you need to start looking for a care home for a loved one, whether for respite or permanent stay, can be a very overwhelming time. Once you have made the decision that you need this support, the next thing you will need to consider is the practical considerations when finding the right care. This factsheet aims to help give you a plan of how you can navigate this daunting task.

When looking for care in a care home or respite one of the first things that needs to be considered is the cost of that care. Usually, care home fees are either paid for by the cared for person, the local authority or a combination of both. At the moment the thresholds for receiving financial support from the local authority are as follows (and includes the thresholds for care at home):

The upper savings threshold in England and Northern Ireland (above which the person has to pay all their costs) is £23,250. The lower savings threshold in England and Northern Ireland (below which a person’s savings are no longer taken into account, although all other income including benefits and pensions is still counted) is £14,250.

The upper savings threshold in Wales is £50,000 for residential care and £24,000 for care at home. There is no lower savings threshold in Wales. People in Wales will pay no more than £100 per week for their care at home.

If you are above the threshold, then you can start your search for a home without needing to go through Adult Social Care, if you are on (or just over) or just below the threshold, then you will need to go through Adult Social Care.

Once you have organised your financial situation, if you are self-funding, you can start looking for a home straight away. You can start by going to your local council website and look for their list of care homes, this is often called a care directory. This is a good start to begin your search. When you have identified some homes that you think may be suitable, then you can go to the Care Quality Commission (CQC), www.cqc.org.uk, website to research your chosen homes. The CQC is the body responsible for inspecting all care homes in the UK. They have an easy-to-use system to identify how good they think a home is and, you can read all of the reports on a home from the day the home was first opened. While there are other websites that give ratings to care homes, the CQC is the government regulator and so, gives an unbiased report.

If the person you care for is being funded by Adult Social Care, even if it is only partly funded, then you can expect them to give you a list, usually of 3 homes, that you can then choose from. You can still look up these homes on the CQC website and use those reports to decide which of the homes on your list is the most suitable for the person living with Dementia.

Some important points to remember:

• The cost of a home is not an indicator of quality!
• Make sure you do your due diligence on the home.
• It is not necessarily a good idea to bring the person living with Dementia to see the home when you are first visiting it. If you would like them to see the home, bring them to visit when you are happy that it is suitable. This is situation specific.
• Don’t be afraid to ask the home for reviews from other families.
• Ask about staffing ratios and how long staff have worked there. It is normal to have a turnover of care staff but how long has the manger, cook and cleaner worked there?
• You can make an appointment to see the manager of the home but after that, turn up unexpectedly to see if you are welcomed and if the home is always clean.
• A care home should always be generally clean and smell free.
• Do you feel welcome on your visit? If not, why not?
• Pay attention to your intuition.
• Nice décor does not indicate that the care is good and vice versa.

Most importantly you are not alone on this journey. You are welcome to call DISC Dementia Support at any time for information, signposting or just a listening ear. We are here to help you.

Dementia Information & Support Courses CIC
admin@discdementiasupport.org
Emma 07591 250988 Louise 07591 251005
www.discdementiasupport.org