Moving into a residential care home is a big step. And like any big move in your life you want to know you are making the right choice, choosing the right place, moving to a potentially happy, new home.
You need to know you are choosing the right care home for you. Once you move in it is no longer just a care home. It is your home. And you want that home to be, well…homely.
Age UK has some great advice for what to look for when choosing a care home and even provide a free downloadable care home check list. Their advice includes the things you need to find out and the questions you need to ask. Of course, your specific needs may vary slightly from someone else’s so it is best you tailor your questions to what is pertinent to you.
Choosing The Right Care Home
Find out as much information as possible. Check brochures or websites. Contact the home directly and speak to someone.
Make sure the home can cater for your level of need or future need. Find out about the amount of staff. How they meet care needs and day to day responsibilities.
Find out if they have any vacancies or if there is a waiting list. What contracts and fees are there?
Making the Right Care Choice
One of the biggest elements that factors into your care home choice is care. As well as being your home it has to be able to provide the right level of care you require.
Trying to think of all the right questions to ask can be a thoughtful and difficult task. Again, Age UK are happy to oblige us with some great questions to ask. Questions like:
Does the home assess new residents’ situations and needs before agreeing to accept them?
Do residents have a named member of staff who is particularly responsible for their care?
Do residents seem to have a similar level of needs as you?
Are residents and their families involved in decisions about their care?
If your needs change or increase, can they still be met in the same home?
Are accessible toilets available?
Are residents helped to the toilet if needed?
Does the home link with a specific GP practice for residents?
Do other health staff visit? Opticians, chiropodists etc?
How does the home let family or friends know if a resident has taken ill?
Can the home offer support for end-of-life care?
This list of questions is certainly not extensive and you may have many, many more. In fact, the more questions you have the better. The more questions you ask, the more information you have, the better an informed decision you can make.
Because there are a lot of residential care homes out there to choose from just knowing what to look out for and what questions to ask is only going to be half the battle.
Other factors come into play. How you feel about a particular place for example. If somewhere is going to become your home you’ll want to feel right being there. You’ll want to feel safe and secure.
It is for this reason that a person may opt for a smaller, more personal, family run care home as opposed to the larger establishments.
A smaller home will have that little extra, personalised touch, will naturally feel more homely, maybe feel a bit more like living with extended family as opposed to just strangers who care for you. Somewhere like here which can give you that home away from home feeling you certainly deserve.
