How to Choose a Care Home

When the time comes to choose a care home for yourself or a loved one you need to be sure that not only will the home offer everything you or your family member needs but that it will be a place where you will feel happy and at home.   Choosing a care home is one of the most important and difficult decisions you can make and one you don’t want to get wrong.  You may feel it’s an impossible task and that you don’t really know a place until you live there.  However doing thorough research and finding out as much as you can about the care home allows you to make an informed choice ensuring all your physical, emotional and social requirements are met.  Once you know a particular home can support your physical needs you must ensure it will be a place that will make you happy. 

  Visiting the home is very important so you can speak to staff and tour the building.  The general feel of the environment is very important, does it feel welcoming, are the staff friendly and are the residents happy with plenty to do?  If the residents are sociable are there communal areas for chatting and socialising?  You may want some quiet space so you will need to find out if there are rooms without a TV where you can go and read a book.  All these answers will allow you to get an understanding of how the home is run and if it suits you.

It can be a useful exercise to think about what you want from your next home and write a list of things that are important to you along with any questions you might have. For example the location of the home will need to be considered. You would not consider a care home in the Bedfordshire area if your family lived in Ely. It would make sense to consider care homes in the Cambridgeshireor Norfolk areas. You also need to find out if transport links and facilities like shops, parks, banks, places of worship are within easy reach for you or visitors. Consideration has to be made regarding access to the building and when inside, you will need to move around so wheelchair access or a lift may be essential to you.

 Personal space is essential to us all so it is vital to see the rooms and find out if you can bring your own furniture to make it feel like home.  Remember to check if all the rooms have en-suite facilities, if you can receive a mobile phone reception, what the laundry arrangements are and if they can meet your dietary requirements.  As for activities, perhaps you have a hobby that you wish to pursue or you would like to get involved in other activites such as trips to the theatre, to gardens and stately homes.  If you make sure your new home environment is a close match to the way you live your life now, then the whole transition and move will be as easy as you can make it.