With the recent concerns in nursing home care, there are precautions to take into place when choosing a nursing home. Here are some helpful tips to help you choose the right care home for you parents.

1. What To Look Out
For When Choosing
A Nursing Care
Home
Nursing Care Home Advice

2. What is Wrong with the Care
Home Industry…
• Within recent news there has been a lot of uprising about how
the elderly are treated within care homes.
• The year 2012 has been a bleak year for the care home industry
with reports showing that there has been a £500 million
funding gap in spending for elderly people’s support in the
UK.
• This is causing massive concern within care homes across the
country as they are provided with less equipment and in some
cases are understaffed. This is leading to mistakes being made
and elderly people receiving incorrect treatment.

3. Nursing Home Care Warnings
• The Public Services Ombudsman has warned
that there could be many more examples of
older people getting poor treatment in nursing
homes, unless there's an improvement in the
way care levels are monitored.
• Here are some tips to help you choose the right
care home for you parents.

4. Quality Of Care
• When parents grow old, it falls to the child to look after their
them. It can be extremely difficult to care for your parents if
they fall victim to Alzheimer’s or require round the clock
care, especially if you have your own family to look after.
• Some of us to decide to become full time carers if we believe
that know one else can offer them the care we do.
• To ensure your loved one receives the care they require, you
need to ensure that the care or nursing home you choose for
them offer the best care possible for your loved one.
• A care home should provide Compassion, Care, Dignity &
Respect for those who they are looking after, which is why it is
so important to look for these qualities in your care home.

5. What to Look for in a Good Care
& Nursing Home
• Here is a check list to help you on your way to choosing an
ideal care home for a loved one.

6. 1. Accreditations
• The first thing that you should look out for is whether their
website has any accreditations from the Care Quality
Commission. This is the government body that rates nursing
homes and hospitals.
• This is a great way in which you can identify the best care
homes in your area. This can provide reassurance to place a
loved one in a care home that will provide them with the best
treatment possible.

7. 2. Testimonials
• The second thing to look at is to check care home testimonials
to get other opinions.
• If you can not find many testimonials you may wish to ask
others who currently use the care home. Ask opinions of the
people inside and try to get a bigger picture of what it would
be like for your loved one to live there.

8. 3. Visit The Care Home
• Visit a couple of the care homes in person before
deciding on which one you think is best. This will help
you to get a feel for the care home, the members of staff
that work in the care home as well as visiting hours.
• This will give you more of an insight as to the type of
people that your family member will be with on a day
to day basis and could enhance your judgement on
which place is best for them.
• Visit the home more than once. Don't do just one tour.
Drop by unannounced. Visit at different times,
including during meals and at night. Are staff
available? Does there seem to be anything for residents
to do?

9. 4. Facilities
• Check out the different types of facilities that they have on
offer for their patients.
• You should have a good idea as to what type of things your
relative likes to do on a day to day basis, so it would be a good
idea to check whether these activities are available in the care
home.
• This could be anything from gardening, to reading the
newspaper, or watching a special television show.
• You may also want to ask about the activities that occur with
other members from the home and see if there will be an
opportunity to socialise with other members of the care home
on a regular basis.

10. 5. Try Out The Care Home On
Day Visits…
• When you are unsure about a care home, or you want to ease
your loved one in gently, you should take the opportunity to
try out the care home on a day visit.
• For some this opportunity is not always available, but if you
know your loved one will be at the stage to be put into a care
home soon, you may wish to consider sending them in for a
day or two a week to see how they get on.

11. Questions To Ask…
• Laundry facilities are important. Are there dedicated laundry
staff or is this a job just for night staff (as in some homes).
• If a resident does not like to eat in the dining room, can food
be served elsewhere - ie: in a sitting room, or bedroom? If a
resident does not want to eat at the set time, is his/her food
saved for when he/she does want to eat?
• Does the home have a visiting chiropodist? hairdresser? Are
there regular visits from a community psychiatric nurse to
help to assess medication needs?

12. • The Location: Is the facility conveniently located, making it
easily accessible for family and friends? Are you nearby? Do
you need your nursing home in West Sussex, Surrey or
Newcastle? What about the neighbourhood? Proximity to
parks and stores could be important for seniors who are a bit
more mobile.
• Check on the condition of the building. Does it appear to be
clean and well-maintained?
• You will want to know whether your relative can bring in
some furniture. You may also want to find out whether the
residence has a private telephone line, cable television and
internet access.
• Are there facilities that allow families to dine together?
• Ask to see a sample menu and ask residents what they think
about the food.

13. Health Services & Staff
Questions
• How often do staff members check on patients? There are
minimum times that staff are required to spend with each
patient. Those times vary across the country.
• If your relative is unable to bathe him/herself you will want to
know how often staff bathe residents.
• How often are services such as physiotherapy, occupational
therapy and foot care available?
• Will your relative continue to have access to his/her family
doctor? If not, what are the alternatives? Under what
circumstances would the home be unable to offer care to
someone?

14. Take a wonder, look around and ask the questions that need to
be asked! I wish you well.
Please comment below if you think any other questions you feel
should be asked about choosing a care home.