Our little guide booklet will help you or your loved one choose the right care home.
Starting to consider care options for you or a loved one, can be a difficult and emotional time. Understanding your options, sifting through all the advice and simply choosing the right care home, can often be a little confusing and overwhelming.
Here at Wellburn, we want to make this as easy and stress free as possible for you, which is why we've created this section. It will walk you through the process, offering tips and advice on how to choose the right care home. We've also created a booklet to accompany this section. Our 'Little guide’ will help you ask all the right questions, look for all the right things and allow you to score as you go, when you're out and about visiting potential care homes.
You can request a copy to be popped in the post to you below.
Call our New Care Enquiries Team now on:
0191 694 1052
Enquiry pack
Our enquiry pack is full of all the information you'll need, including our super useful Little Guide, which offers hints, tips and a checklist to use when looking around and comparing homes.
Little guide
To order a copy of our ‘Little guide’ booklet only, simply click ‘Order now’, fill in the form and we’ll pop it straight in the post to you.
It’s a whole lifestyle
Meet some of our dedicated Lifestyle Co-ordinators, as they talk about how they approach their jobs and discuss the importance of having a diverse and exciting range of activities for our residents.
Explore our ‘Homes’ section to discover and watch more videos about life in each of our 14 care homes. We meet our Home Managers, Lifestyle Co-ordinators and of course some our our lovely residents.
Whether one of our homes is right for you or not, we're here for you every step of the way. Here’s some of the things you will need to consider when choosing a care home:
Understanding your needs
There's a lot of care homes, that offer different types of care. Some provide specialist nursing or dementia care, while others simply offer a safe and comfortable home for people who need a little help with daily life. Some care homes, like us, also offer options for those who feel they're not quite ready for permanent, full term care. For example, we offer a ‘time to think’ 6 week package, that gives you or a loved one, the opportunity to get a taste of life in a care home, without the full commitment, allowing a little more time to time to decide. The type of care you or a loved one requires, will also influence which one you choose. Most homes will undertake a full care assessment, together with the person entering the home. This often involves family or friends, social workers, care managers, or GPs.
Location, location, location
Often, many care home residents have a strong social and family connection to their local community. Most of the time, it's understandable that they'd want to continue and stay in the same area. For others though, it can be a real opportunity to move closer to family of friends, making it easier for them to visit. It's important to weigh all of these factors up when choosing a location, that best meets yours or a loved ones needs. Once an area has been decided upon, you can then start to develop a shortlist of homes in that community. There's a number of online care home directories, which can be a good place to start, or you simply start by popping onto Google to start narrowing the search.
Quality checking
Once a location has been identified, and the search has thrown up a selection of care homes, make sure you take some time to check reviews. The established independent regulator for care homes in England is called the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Their job in part is to undertake regular inspections of all care homes to ensure they meet government standards. Checking in with the CQC can help identify homes that are trusted and have a good track record. Quite often, word of mouth can also be a really useful way to get a broader idea of a home's performance.
Draw up a shortlist
Things should really be shaping up at this stage. By now you should have a really good idea on location, and a shortlist of homes that have been graded well by the CQC and have generally received favourable reviews by others. But reviews by others are only part of the bigger picture. There's no better way to get a feeling for a home, than taking time out to go and visit the homes on your shortlist. During your visit, you will get the opportunity to speak with the home manager, staff and residents. Just like family homes, care homes can differ considerably in character and atmosphere, and it is important to find an environment in which you or your loved one feels comfortable. This is where personal choice really plays an important part. What feels right for some, may not feel right for others. Don't forget at this stage, to take our 'guide to choosing a care home' booklet with you, so you can score the home on all the important factors, as well as taking notes whilst you’re there, which can often be forgotten at a later stage.
Money matters
At this stage, you should be getting really close to making a decision. A big part of your decision, could be based on cost. The cost of care can vary depending on the level of support you or a loved one require. There may well be some options available to help fund the support you need, so it's important to understand your entitlements. Make sure you discuss the costs thoroughly with each care home manager, to ensure you have a complete understanding of what it will cost.
That all important decision
By now you should have everything in place to be able to confidently make an informed decision. Remembering that if it's between a couple of homes, go and visit them again if needed. You now have all the information at hand, but it's worth repeating, that a large part of your decision, will come down to instinct. Which home made you or your loved one feel the most comfortable, which had the friendliest staff, which one felt just right. It's also useful at this stage, to remember that moving in to the right care home, can be the start of a new, exciting chapter. A new chapter that can bring new friends, hobbies and an opportunity to rekindle lost passions and interests. A chapter that can allow you or a loved one, to live a happy and fulfilling life.
