Top tips to research care options
Choosing to move into residential care, or accepting someone caring for you in your own home, is a big decision. It’s important to think about what you want to be able to do as a result of getting care and support.
You need to research your options beforehand, and to find out if you or your friend or family member’s needs and aspirations are likely to be met. This article will look at care homes and care in your own home.
What do you want to be able to do?
Before you even look at a care service, you need to think: What’s important to me? And, what do I want to be able to do when I have care and support? So for example, if you want to maintain connections with your local community, then you may want care at home, or in a service nearby. But if you want to be closer to relatives, you may consider moving to a different area. If you want to live at home, but are struggling with day-to-day things like cooking, cleaning and shopping, there are many services that can help you to live at home.
Research
You then need to research the available options that might meet your needs. So if, for example, you need a specialist services, such as dementia care, make sure the care staff are trained and supported in this area.
The next thing to do is to look at the service’s latest inspection on the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) website. Look for the five green ticks to give you an idea of how the last inspection went. It’s also useful to find out what your council thinks about the service. Is the service on the council’s list of approved providers? Not being on the list may not mean anything, but it can be good to ask the local authority if they know of any problems.
Find out what people who use the service think about it. You can look at online reviews, for example on caring for people safely & protecting them from harm; or you can ask the organisation if you can speak to some people who use the service, along their friends.
Prepare a list of things to discuss and be prepared to take notes. You may want to visit the service at different times to see what it is like. For example, you might want to visit during mealtimes to see if people living there are involved in deciding day-to-day things like what and when to eat; or perhaps take part in some of the social activities to see if you would enjoy spending time with the other residents.
Down to specifics now and you may wish to see if, in the home, there’s good nursing care, if that’s part of the service, plus personal care (i.e. support with washing, dressing and taking medication), incontinence care, and regular access to a GP and dentist. Also, faith or cultural sensitivities may need to be taken into account; is their first language spoken by staff? Are there sexuality issues that staff need to be aware of?
More questions about care homes now: How does the service involve people in running the service? Is there a service user group? Can families and friends get involved? On top of that, what are leisure services like? Is the care home close to friends and family?
Speak to different people about the service, from the manager to staff to service users and their relatives. You can find out a lot through anecdotal evidence. It’s important to at least get a feeling for whether this is the right choice. It’s important that the manager has given you time to ask questions. You can find out how many staff are there, compared to the number of residents. You can get a feel for how fairly staff are treating people, how they deal with medical emergencies and many other things. Ask to see key paperwork. Have a look at the home’s statement of purpose, their comments book and any contract you may have to sign.
Care at home: Factors to consider
There are a wide range of services at home; it’s not just about home care. Our site has a round-up of the support you can access to enable you to do so. From carers who can visit you at home on a regular basis, to having meals delivered, and equipment and technology that can make living in your own home easier, there is a lot of help available.
For home care, there are many considerations that are already covered above, when discussing choosing a care home. For instance, it’s still good to gauge the opinions of staff, look at CQC ratings and to have access to key documentation. There are, however, a few variations compared with care homes.
Allowing someone to support you in your own home can be a major decision. It’s important to consider what you want and also the options available. You may want support from a number of different services, or one organisation might be able to provide everything you need. Do you or a loved-one want to be able to get washed and dressed? Perhaps a personal assistant is appropriate. If you want to move around your home, you might want to consider adaptions with specialist equipment. Nursing care might be needed if you have a medical condition.
Importantly, if you have to pay, find out what the costs are, and whether you can afford it. That might sound obvious but it’s one thing that needs to be factored in early. Talk to the people who provide the service, ideally face to face, or if not on the telephone. You might want to have someone you know and trust with you during the conversation, even if it’s just on the phone.
Finding care
Choosing the right setting might seem daunting and, indeed, it’s a very important task. However, we hope that the advice above can help you get the ball rolling and provide some support over finding the right care and support that you and your family members are looking for.
Steve Palmer, Press Manager, the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)
This blog came about after the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) appeared alongside myageingparent.com on BBC Radio Tees in May 2014, in the wake of the Panorama programme on abuse in a care home. Both organisations were asked what to look for when choosing a care and support.
