How do you find a care home?

Lovelyjoolz

I have a very elderly relative who, after being hospitalised once again for falling at home, really needs to look at residential care.

I've started to read up on care homes and fees and it's all very complex. My relative can't afford top up fees. Her savings are only around £15k. I've established that there should be some care homes who will agree a contract at the LA's "standard rate", but I can't find a list anywhere. None of the care homes I've found on google publish their fees on the website. Is it simply a case of phoning them all and asking if their fees fall in line the the LA's?

So before I go blundering around, upsetting anyone by phoning and asking for prices, is this the way I should be doing it? Or is there a government agency I should be going through?

And how do I find her a nice, safe, pleasant care home within the "standard rate"?

Has anyone done this before and can offer advice?

pops5588

My boss has just gone through all this for his father. Yes there is a lot of phoning involved I'm afraid, although Social Services were notified and were supposed to be involved they did sweet FA and a lot of it came down to my boss and the time that he put in.

His father also could not pay the top up fees and as far as I'm aware Boss just phoned around and asked if they did HCC rates (Hampshire County Council) and they would either say yes or no, then they would go and visit to have a look at the rooms etc.

It took a long time but he is being moved into the home on Monday so all worth it in the end!

catzooo

Please don't choose a home based solely on the cost. Go visit them, turn up unannounced and ask to look around. You may have to wait a while, but somebody should be available to show you around and discuss facilities and rates. Earlier this year we had the same issue, relative in hospital and unable to go home. We found a lovely place at LA rate, far nicer and much more personal care than some of the far more expensive ones.

tea_lover

Could you ask at the hospital where they're currently being treated if there's someone who can point you in the right direction? We had similar earlier this year with my Grandad (went from his own home, to hospital, to a nursing home) and the hospital were brilliant at helping us sort it all out.

onlyroz

I would also have thought that the hospital would be able to direct you towards which care homes might be suitable - but I do advise visiting all the ones you are considering.

PasturesNew

We were paying for all fees but the social services gave us a book of all the homes that were approved by them, so had people in them that were fully funded. I knew their fees were less likely to be completely astronimical. In the end we are currently paying about 25% more than the Council pay at the home we chose.

From that lot I found one group were a charity, rather than a 1-off privately-owned home.

Within that group I found they had a home that was all on one level - I chose that one because I didn't want my relative to be trapped in their room waiting for carers to help them with stair lifts, lifts, stairs etc. My relative is a "wanderer" and I wanted them to feel they were able to wander out of their room and into the social areas on a whim, and back, without "being a nuisance".

They say "pick a small one", but that needs qualifying for size.... the first we tried (prior to hospitalisation) was too small, with about 15-20 people. Probably 40-50 rooms is best.

That was it .... as I had limited time.

Goldiegirl

My mum had to go into a care home, funded by the local council.

I was in touch with her local social services and they gave me a list of care home in the area that accepted the LA standard rate.

I then visited a few, and picked the one I thought was best

I think your first port of call should be the local Council's social services department - I was lucky, my mums council were very helpful, but even at the worst they should be a starting point, I feel.

PasturesNew

onlyroz wrote: »

I would also have thought that the hospital would be able to direct you towards which care homes might be suitable - but I do advise visiting all the ones you are considering.

I had the whole bedside meeting with the two interested other parties. They told me to go and find one and tell them which one I chose.... but I was paying. No doubt if they were paying I could have just said "you find one" and left it to them.

They aren't helpful really .... everything's left up to you to choose things you didn't know you'd need.... and with short timescales.

ilikewatch

Also, before you start looking, make sure that you ask your elderly relative if she has any preference.

A few years ago my late grandmother needed to move to a care home after a series of falls at home. She was insistent on moving into a particular home, which to me appeared absolutely awful (poorly maintained, scruffy etc.) However, granny already knew a couple of the residents, knew the families of a couple of the employees and most importantly, could look out of the window and see that area she had lived in for the last 90 years. She was quite content to live out her final years there despite my protestations that it looked like a poorly funded soviet era asylum.

Incidentally, granny wouldn't hear of moving to the very plush private care home down the road (despite money being no issue) - one of her 90-odd year old friends had moved in there temporarily while convalescing after a bad case of pneuomonia and never came out again - in granny's eyes the home was entirely responsible and she wouldn't give moving there a second thought.

Madmel

Another advocate for asking the hospital. If your relative has had falls already, they should be assessing her and her home to make sure that she can cope. If she cannot, they should direct you as to what happens next. But you need to be calm, patient and assertive.

We had this with MiL a couple of years ago. The Occupational Therapy team came to assess her flat to see whether or not she would be able to cope. She was adamant that she would not go into a home. The OTs recommended a new higher bed, meals on wheels and 2 x 30 minute care visits per day. To cut a long story short, she came home, hated the carers, refused to use the bed and gradually declined. She was taken into hospital following another fall some 15 months later [we were on holiday] and did ok but then caught a chill and was given hours to live. When she refused to give in, the hospital in conjunction with HospiceCare agreed that she should be moved to a nursing home and it would be fully funded by them. A very nice Hospice nurse left DH a list of suitable places that were close to our home - we were able to specify a location and this was most convenient for us. He spent a Saturday morning looking at those with spaces, visiting 3 out of the 4. He came home for lunch a bit disheartened because each was nice and had good points but also a disadvantage. My advice was "you'll know it when you see it" so he went to the 4th and of course it was lovely. MiL moved in less than a week later and spent her last 9 weeks in a lovely place where her grandchildren could pop in every day. Before she died, she admitted to DH that had she known how lovely it was, she would have moved in years earlier…

Since she died, I have discovered that she should have had reviews by the Care team to ensure the care was still appropriate. Sadly that did not happen and there is not much we can do about it. Ensure you get everything in writing and push for all the assessment you can.

Lovelyjoolz

Wow, thank you for all your wonderful replies. It's so helpful to hear everyone's experiences.

Does anyone know if it's possible to move her into a home outside her LA? She currently lives in Birmingham and the nearest relative is 45 minutes to an hour away. It would be much easier (and nicer for her because she'd get more frequent visitors) if she could move out to Staffordshire to be closer to family.

It's going to be difficult to persuade her to move, because she's stubborn and likes her independence. But she's always been clumsy (i.e. could fall over a speck of dust!) and now, aged 93, she falls over a lot and just cannot get herself back up. This time, she was lying on the bedroom floor for a day and a half before a neighbour noticed the curtains hadn't been opened and called an ambulance.

The stairs in her house are horrific even for me, so I really don't know how she manages them. Then again, it's probably the stairs that are keeping her as fit as she is! There's really nothing wrong with her except old age and a bit of forgetfulness.

We suggested a care home a few years back when she had a bad fall and broke her ankle, but she refused and got quite upset about it. I feel dreadful because she thinks we're trying to force her. Perhaps this time she'll see things differently.