Looking for the right care for your loved one can be difficult, but if they have round-the-clock or complex care needs, residential care is usually the best way to ensure they have the treatment, community and independence they need to thrive.
Choosing a care home will be shaped around your loved one’s needs, which are themselves typically explored through a care needs assessment, but choosing from a variety of care homes is about more than which needs can be met and their location.
The Care Quality Commission have a five-step process at the centre of their evaluation process, and the five main questions they use are an ideal starting point to finding a care home that suits your loved one.
These five questions are not only simple, but how they are answered will pave the way for more pertinent discussions about the specifics of care.
Is The Care Home Safe?
An obvious and somewhat blunt question, the important parts of the answer are not whether it is safe or not, but how transparent a care home is in explaining why your loved one will be safe and happy there.
It is about understanding how staff levels are managed, the protocols for incident management, how medicines are stored and dispensed, and how freedom, independence and safety are all balanced.
Is The Care Home Effective?
Determining whether a care home is effective for your loved one’s needs is a mix of protocol, the ability to manage specialist needs and putting your loved one’s needs and wants first.
A dementia care home should be designed and laid out to ensure that any resident can feel comfortable and safe staying there, with routines based around their needs.
Is The Care Home Caring?
A good care home will know about your loved one’s needs, wants, hopes and likes, both shaped by their condition and by their identity and culture, with the freedom to express how they want to be treated and the right to be treated with dignity and respect at all times.
Is The Care Home Responsive To Your Loved One’s Needs?
A care home should clearly have a written plan for your loved one’s personalised care, which you will be actively involved in, and will change to meet changing health needs.
Is The Care Home Well Led?
The right care home will have a clear leadership and responsibility structure, one that is clearly conveyed to you and your loved one if they need to report or escalate anything.