Just starting to look at these.
Any recommendations / ones to avoid would be welcome.
stw.geoffj@me.com if you'd rather not post on here.
Thanks in andvance
From recent experience, they are all desperate places running on a shoestring unless they are posh places in Cheshire or the Ribble Valley for old folk with lots of money.
Many smell of urine but that depends on the manager and how much effort is put into cleaning up. We used one that didn't smell at all then moved Grandma to one nearer home but many of the rooms stank. Go and see a few, walk around, look at as many rooms as possible, speak with the carers, chat with other families, ask about visiting hours and ask about how they keep residents cool in hot weather. Ask about the shift handover meetings.
How much nursing is required? When my gran went into (eyewateringly expensive assisted living) she chose and if it wasn't an old folks home I would quite like to live there. She has her own bungalow and nurses can come to there to do what ever they need.
I would echo the sentiment that the mega expensive places are nicer but often not an option. Find out the costs for everything. What the weekend cover is. What their policy on calling out ambulances and doctors are. What services they perform and what ones they won't. There is often a blanket situation where ambulances are called which may not always be the healthiest option.
My gran has a camera that is connected to interweb so people can check on her then talk to her through it or FaceTime if they see she is looking down.
One sure fire test is. If you would not consider living there then look for somewhere better.
Have a look on the CARE STANDARDS website, their inspection reports are their to read, some are horrific and still trading, visit a few to get a feeling for the place, look round the car park if its covered in crap walk away as the inside will be worse.
ask about top up fees, whos funding the care local council /family or relative,
ask about meals , staffing, visiting should be any time, standards of rooms, lounge, hot or to cold, cleanliness, smell of urine,check bathrooms, toilet rolls should be in holders, no shampoo or other shared toiletries in communal bathrooms, ask about laundry services and days out/minibus trips,look for poor on no maintenace, lights out, toilets not working, ask if all hot water has thermostatic mixer valves, look if radiators have covers or are cool heat, they should be.ask how many managers the place has had in last 5 years, who the owners are,ask how long the current manager has been in post.
We used to do maintance in care homes and my dad was seriously injured in one.But thats another story.
Pretty much as the others have said. visit a few and use your nose a lot. Check the reports but don't be scared off by technical breaches. speak to the manager. The manager is the key person and you don't get a decent home without a good manager.
The issue is that the money provided by councils to cover the cost of care homes for people simply is not enough to cover the costs. Running a care home to the minimum standards set is around 600 a month per bed
should read £600 a week a bed = ie more than the councils provide hence the corner cutting done in most homes. Most costs are fixed so they scrimp in the areas without fixed costs to try to break even
Thanks for the insight folks - it's been useful. I've had an intense couple of days, but I THINK (crosses everything) I've sorted a place in one of the top homes in the area. There really is the good, bad and ugly out there, and I feel for some residents and staff in some of the places I've viewed. Just need social services to organise the equipment etc and we should be sorted by the weekend.