Making the tough and emotionally challenging decision that your older parent would be much safer and likely happier living in a care home full time, rather than at home with you, is full of contradictions.

However, should you make this decision and know this is absolutely the best ‘next move’ for your elderly parent, then choosing the right care home to suit their individual needs and desires becomes of paramount importance.

Here are some helpful tips to aid your decision.

Apply for an Individual Needs Assessment

Even though it can feel strange to ask for a professional to come into your home and assess the specific needs of your parent moving forward, this is often the best way of ensuring the care home you eventually choose, either together with them or else on their behalf, is the right fit.

The government offers an entirely free needs assessment , that can be applied for through your local council and even if you feel as if you know your parent better than anyone, such an assessment can often make a positive difference.

Ask As Many Questions as You Can

Vale View Heights care home in Sidmouth offers comprehensive and friendly tours of the entire care home site and, should you visit with your mother or father, make sure to spend time getting to know the staff and, where possible, speak to current residents.

Topics to bear in mind when embarking upon such a tour of any and all potential care homes include whether or not there is a supervisor officially on duty at all hours of the day, whether there is an extensive and well-maintained outdoors space and if the rooms can be adapted.

Ensure You Work Through the Entirety of the Contract

As you might expect, every care home operates in a slightly different way and this is most clearly reflected in the fine print of the contract.

Even if you and your parent are nowhere near making your final decision on where they are going to live in the future, asking for a copy of the contract from any prospective care home will give you a detailed overview.

A thorough and honest care home contract should consist of the following:

• Details pertaining to care home insurance
• Additional charges (such as hairdressing and laundry)
• Transport to and from hospital and doctor appointments
• A full breakdown of all fees
• A typical leisure activity schedule for one week
• The types of accommodation available
• Meal plans and how they intend on catering to individual dietary requirements

Get a Copy of Each Inspection Report

Word of mouth recommendations from friends in a similar position to you are always helpful, but once you have whittled down the options to a shortlist, spend time going over the inspection report for each care home.

There are no less than four separate watchdogs in the UK for care providers and each of the reports are publicly and readily available to read, either by contacting the home directly or by searching for them online.

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