Care homes

All care home providers in England must be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). All services are inspected by the CQC, which reports on its findings and rates each home. These inspection reports and ratings are available at the

Types of care home

Care homes (personal care only)

If you need someone to look after you 24 hours a day, but don’t need nursing care, a care home offering only personal care may be an option. Personal care includes bathing, feeding, dressing and help with moving but it must be paid for in full if your capital/savings exceed £23,250. This figure may change during the lifetime of this Directory. See page 48 for more information on paying for your care.

Care homes with nursing

A care home with nursing provides the same care and support as a care home offering personal care, but with 24-hour nursing staff on hand. If you think you may need nursing care in a home, and are not self-funding your care, you will need to have an assessment to determine Care Act 2014 eligible needs and discuss how those needs are best met.

If the outcome is that a care home providing nursing care is the agreed option, a social care worker will work with you to look at the options available. The cost of the nursing care part of your fees is paid by the NHS to the home directly: the current amount is £209.19 per week, see page 50 for more information. This figure may change over the lifetime of this Directory.

For help with finding care homes and care homes with nursing, visit www.carechoices.co.uk to search across the country.

home or from the CQC website (www.cqc.org.uk ).

Before you decide whether to move into a care home, you might like to contact Worcestershire County Council for a needs assessment (see page 7).

Activities in care homes

The word ‘activity’ can imply many different things but, in the context of a care home, it should mean everything a resident does from when they open their eyes in the morning until they go to sleep at night.

Activities should stimulate residents emotionally, physically, and mentally and, in a good care home, should encompass all aspects of daily life. They can range from choosing what to wear, to helping with tasks around the home or garden, to listening to the radio or joining in with an art or exercise class. Above all, activities provide a point of interest, fun and challenge to each day. They should enable people to participate in daily life, be engaged and maintain hobbies or activities they have enjoyed throughout their life, as well as offering the opportunity to try something new, if they wish. Lots of care homes now employ a dedicated activity co-ordinator. What they do and how they do it varies from one home to another. Increasingly, they are fully integrated into the staff team, play a key part in developing care plans and ensure that all staff appreciate the part they play in delivering high-quality activity provision.

Ensure you speak to any potential providers about the activities they provide in their care home.