Advice on choosing a Care Home
Moving your loved ones into a care home is a huge decision. Much guidance is needed to decide whether moving into a home is the right choice and for choosing the right one. There are many types of residential care homes available and various alternatives to residential homes such as sheltered housing, extra care housing schemes and also the choice of living independently at home with community care support.
We have tried to create some useful points to help you and the person you are looking after make that big decision.
1. The location of the home. Would the person you are looking after prefer to be near family and friends? If you are likely to visit often, it would make life easier if the journey is not too long and would mean you can spend more time with your loved one.
2. Care homes are regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).You will need to look into their most recent reports and see how well the care home is doing and if there are any areas of concern. Reports can be downloaded from the CQC website.
3. How welcoming are the staff and carers? Did you get a warm friendly feeling when you walked through the door? A sign of a good home is when the majority of the staff have been working there for a long time and they know the residents well.
4. A good home should be clean, bright and hygienic that's been adapted appropriately for residents, with single bedrooms and en-suite bathrooms available.
5. You can arrange for trial residential stays so you see whether your loved one will be comfortable and happy in their new home before committing. Government rules on care homes state that all potential residents should be invited to a trial stay before they commit to a permanent residence.
6. It would always be a good idea to visit the potential homes at least twice with maybe another point of view coming along the second time round. If you are unsure first time a second viewing may sway your decision.
7. You can research homes online to see how well they do on the review system.
8. Social services will be able to give you and the person you're looking after information about residential care homes, and they may be able to assist with finding a suitable home.
9. The homes communication with you is extremely important. Do they have regular meetings and support groups in place?
10. A wide range of activities should be available that take into account the needs and wishes of all the residents. In recent years we have sold increasingly more labels for care home residents. The communal washing staff demand that absolutely everything is labelled.
If you need any advice on appropriate labels for a family member or loved one going into care then please call our office on 01635 298326 and speak to any member of staff. Alternatively we have a whole page on our website dedicated to care homes, just click here One of our most popular products for care homes are our EasyTags as they will withstand the washes up to 100 degrees.
