7 top tips when choosing a care home

Going into a care home can be one of the most difficult transitions anyone has to make. It can also be traumatic for the family of the person going into care.

That’s why it’s vital to do your homework and find out as much as you can about the home you’re considering.

Many families first look for a care home at a crisis point. In addition, they may not know how the system works, what to ask or what to look out for.

You may also find, as  many families do, that the NHS and/or your local authority is less than proactive in helping you, especially if the person going into care has some savings. Wherever possible, however, take your time over your choice of care home and don’t let anyone put pressure on you to make a quick decision.

When you visit a care home, ask lots of questions, use your instincts when you visit, and if you know someone with a relative in the same home, ask for their view.

These 7 top tips about care homes will get you started:

1. It sounds obvious but… You can gauge a lot from phoning a care home. Do they have time to answer the phone? Is it answered by someone who knows what they’re talking about? Is there a lot of background noise? What questions do they ask you? This is just as important as what you ask them. Do they offer to send you their brochure? How professional do they sound?
2. Remember that the size of a home or its corporate brand name do not necessarily reflect the quality of care. Bigger is not always better, and well-known brand names don’t necessarily provide better care. Equally, official Care Quality Commission inspection reports don’t necessarily reflect the quality of care or the day-to-day life that people actually experience in the home. That’s why it’s vital to visit the home in person – preferably more than once and at different times of the day.
3. Given the financial collapse of what was formerly the UK’s biggest care home operator, Southern Cross, and now the uncertainty surrounded the future of Four Seasons, it’s crucial to find out about the company that owns the care home. Today there are a relatively small number of large companies who own the majority of care homes in the UK. Is the company financially stable? Are they likely to invest in upgrading the home as and when it needs it? Are they committed to providing care for the long term? It’s heartbreaking to hear of care homes closing and residents having to be split up and sent elsewhere. Find out as much as you can in advance.
4. Talk to the manager – and explain that you have a lot of questions. Be aware of how willing they seem to spend time answering your questions. Bear in mind that it’s not unusual during an initial visit to be given assurances about levels and service and care, especially about things like outings, when the reality doesn’t match up. Ask as many specific questions as you can. Also, ask what the manager expects from relatives, as this can give you a good feel for how involved relatives are. Notice how much the manager asks about you. It’s vital – and, remember, you are the customer, just as you would be if you were looking for a good hotel.
5. What percentage of nurses or carers on any given day are brought in from agencies? Agency carers and nurses are not based at the care home. Instead, they’re a bit like office temps – they go to whichever home needs them on the day, and so they may not know you or be familiar with your needs. The greater the percentage of permanent staff at a care home the better it will be for you.
6. If you’re the person needing care, how easy is it for you to gain access to the garden? And are the doors actually unlocked during the day? If you can self-propel in a wheelchair or use a walking frame, are the doors to the garden actually wide enough to get through unaided? Even in a care home there are sometimes doors with high latches that are impossible to reach by someone in a wheelchair! Having to ask for help all the time gets very draining – both for you and for staff. Sunlight and vitamin D is vital for health – and it’s very important to be able to get outside.
7. What measures are in place to make sure you can get a good night’s sleep once you’re living at the care home? Ask some of the other residents if you can. Good sleep is one of the most important things for good health and wellbeing, and yet if night staff talk loudly in the corridors or people continually jangle keys, etc, it could easily compromise your wellbeing.

And that’s just the start. Once you’ve chosen a care home and moved in, it can be very hard to change things afterwards.

There are many other things to consider, too, especially to do with nutrition, hydration and your specific health challenges.

That’s why we’ve put together this guide, How To Choose A Care Home, pulling together key questions to ask that give you a much deeper view of the care provided in any given home. It helps you ask the less obvious questions most people don’t ask – but should!

How To Choose A Care Home has over 130 tips and questions – plus an introduction to care fees and fully-funded NHS care (known as NHS Continuing Healthcare). Read more.

“Your list of questions to ask a care home is fantastic. Being faced with the care home situation for the first time is like being given a blank sheet of paper. Where do you start? What is important? What haven’t I thought of? Your guide helped make me feel I knew more of what I was doing. I was therefore more confident in the meetings, and that must be apparent to the care home, too.”

Jim Blainey