Find the right care home

It is essential to choose a care home that meets your needs and where you feel comfortable. Follow these steps:

Research care homes
- The NHS Care Find website lists care homes by location, type of care, cost and facilities.
- Our community directory includes a list of local care homes
- Berkshire care directory publication lists care homes and has additional guidance
- The EAC Housing Care website lists care homes, results can be refined by care, cultural and lifestyle needs
Contact the care homes
- Speak to the care home you are interested in to check availability and request a brochure.
Read CQC Inspection Reports
- Review the most recent CQC inspection report to assess the quality of care.
Create a Checklist
- Consider important factors such as:
  - facilities available and services available
  - fees and payment options
  - social activities and lifestyle
  - staff training and qualifications
  - visiting hours for family and friends
  - access to healthcare services
  - daily routines and personalised care plans
- Age UK provides a useful checklist of questions, available to download from the Age UK website.
Visit the care home
- Arrange to visit to see the home first hand and ask any questions you may have.
- Ask if they can offer need specific support. For example, do you or your family member have diabetes, epilepsy? Can the provider supply staff with the right training to support these needs?

Monitoring of care homes

Care and nursing homes must be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which monitor, accesses and rate care providers. During the inspections, care homes are evaluated based on whether they are:

safe
effective
caring
responsive
well-Led

The CQC website provides information on how inspections are conducted and allows you to review reports on care homes you are considering. When reading an inspection report, consider:

The date of the inspection

If the care home was rated as 'requires improvement' or 'inadequate', ask:

What is the current situation?
Have concerns been addressed? if so, how?
Would the care home feel confident that their rating would improve if CQC inspected them today?

Care governance

Care governance is the process of ensuring care is delivered safely and effectively. Ask the care home if they are currently under a care governance process with their local authority.

Helpful resources

The following resources also provide guidance on:

what you need to do before you move
your contract with the care home
what to do if something goes wrong

Websites:

Care publications:

Find the right care home