What to look for in a care home

CareSeeker (Lancashire) will guide you by listing some possible options you may consider when looking for a care home. All care homes are different, each has its own character and features. CareSeeker (Lancashire) may select a care home that appears ideal on paper but you must visit the home to fully appreciate what it has to offer. CareSeeker (Lancashire) recommends that wherever possible you always view more than one home - going to stay in a care home is a big step.

The following is taken from the Commission for Social Care Inspection's (CSCI) Guide on what to look for in a care home:

Here are some important questions to ask and things to think about when looking for a care home. Take this checklist with you when looking around a care home and talk to the residents and staff about the care provided at the home.

Get information about the care home:

• You should be offered information about the services the home provides
• The official document explaining this is called the statement of purpose
• The version for people who use the service - which should be easy to understand - is called the service user guide
• Make sure you are given a copy of both of these

Ask to see:

• An example of a service user's contract with the home, and a plan setting out their own particular needs, whether it's medication, special equipment or a special diet
• The latest CSCI inspection report about the home

Find out if residents have:

• Their personal possessions in their rooms, such as pictures, plants and furniture
• Privacy, and a clean, hygienic and homely environment
• A choice of what and when to eat every day. Are special diets catered for? And can they invite relatives and friends to come and have a meal with them? Can they prepare food or drink themselves if they get hungry or thirsty in the middle of the night?
• Their religious, ethnic and cultural needs taken care of
• The flexibility to have visitors pop in to see them at any time
• The choice of when to get up in the morning, and when to go to bed
• A telephone in their own rooms to make private calls. If there is a shared telephone, is it in a place where they can talk without being overheard?
• The freedom to come and go as they please - to the shops, to the pub or a club in the evening
• A range of activities to take part in (if this is set out in the service user's guide)
• Confidence that there is a clear complaints procedure and that their complaints will be listened to, understood and acted upon
• A happy and positive atmosphere to live in.