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You may have difficulty getting all the information you need on care homes, such as prices and inspection reports. For the full picture, try agencies such as the Elderly Accommodation Counsel, the regulator of homes in your country and local authorities or health trusts or boards.
- The Able Team
Choosing a care home
Once you have made the decision to move into a care home you need to begin the process of choosing the right one for you as this can often take some time.
What to consider
It’s estimated that by 2008 pensioners will outnumber children, and most will be expected to pay something towards their own care, so clear information on the options is essential. Navigating the care-home system can be fraught with difficulties.
Informed choice
When choosing a home, you have the right to information such as costs, services and inspection results. But across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, we’ve found layers of varying confusing rules that aren't helping you get all the information you need.
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Confusion
Which? complained about the poor information available from care homes as part of a super-complaint to the Office of Fair Trading in 2003. In response, the OFT recommended homes publish clear information on contracts and prices, make inspection reports available before and during residents’ stay and supply summaries of proven complaints.
Room for improvement
But our latest research shows there’s still room for improvement. Accurate information on fees may be key to weighing up your options, but when we asked several homes for information packs, around two in five of those sent contained no clear details on costs.
Factors to Consider...
The right location
Finding a suitable local home, let alone one that provides the right information, can be difficult enough. It’s best to focus on locations that keep links with friends, family members and interests, but you may find long waiting times and restricted lists from local authorities can hamper searching.
Check whether the home maintains minimum care standards
Lists of homes are available from several sources, including local authorities and health organisations, homes’ regulators and charities.
Good standards of care
Standards of care in homes vary, but with the right information, such as inspection reports, you can make checks. Ask as much as you can during visits, not least to ensure that the home maintains people’s dignity, and ask whether it meets minimum care standards. Asking friends who have visited people in a home may also help your decision. Ideally, potential residents should visit a short list of homes and give their own views.
Finding a home
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