5 Tips to Find the Best Care Home
Choosing a care home, is something that a lot of thought needs to go into. It’s a massive decision, this will be where a person lives, and where they will be cared for when they need assistance. Whether this is a care home for yourself, or if you’re helping a relative; this is a significant move and needs to be the right one for the individual. This article will give 5 useful tips to help you find the best care home and will consider things like location, and the quality of the care provided.
Pick Somewhere Local to Friends and Family
It is best if a care home is close to the individual’s friends and family, so that they can easily visit, and take along gifts and things that the individual may need. The person moving into the care home does not want to feel isolated, in an unfamiliar place. Also, if family and friends visit, they can take the person out to local places that they used to visit, so that they still have that connection too, such as garden centres, parks, cafes, pubs etc.
Research Care Home Options
There are different types of care homes, depending on whether the care required is temporary respite care, or permanent care. In respite care, this may be a care home where the resident just needs some help to get back on their feet after an illness before they’re ready to live independently in their own home again. Permanent care, however, is where a person will likely stay in the home and grow old there, this may be because they need a level of support that can’t be provided in their own home. Next, you may need to decide whether a residential care home, or nursing home is required. A nursing home is good for people who need medical care too and can be helpful for people with dementia or illnesses like that.
Ensure Care Staff Have DBS Checks
You want to ensure that the care staff are qualified, committed, and are safe and trustworthy to work with vulnerable adults. Whether the care home is for yourself, or for a member of your family, you want to ensure that the care staff hold the highest standards and do not have any criminal records. You need to know that belongings, jewellery, and money will be safe; and that the staff member is kind and caring with no history of abuse or neglect. Good care homes should be able to demonstrate that their staff have Enhanced DBS Checks.
Check the CQC Report
Every care home will be inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to ensure that the care provided is of a certain standard. These reports are published online for all to see, so you can check this to ensure the care home you have selected is of a high quality with no issues.
Activities or Programmes?
Some care homes don’t offer much in the way of activities, or programmes. If you or your relative who will be moving into a care home, likes an active lifestyle, filled with events and activities, then you will need to pick a care home that caters to this, and offers exercise, art classes, craft activities, sporting events, day trips, entertainment of quizzes, bingo, music events etc. This will keep you or your relative entertained and free from boredom.
These tips above will help you to find a suitable care home that is perfect for this new chapter in your or your relatives’ life.