When helping to choose a care home for a relative or a loved one, there are many things to consider.
It’s a big decision. You want to find an environment that can give the best possible care, support and understanding to your relative or friend.
Like when choosing a nursery or school for your children, you’ll want to visit a number of settings, seek advice and take as much time as you can to make the right decision with your loved one’s best interests, needs and opinion at heart.
At Red Homes Healthcare we understand how difficult the transition can be and we offer support and advice that makes it as straightforward as it can be. Our care begins as soon as you pick up the phone, or step inside one of our lovely care homes in Grantham, Newark and Mansfield.
Here are some of our top tips on choosing the right care home:
Type of care
Before anything else, it’s important to understand what type of care your loved one needs as services vary from care home to care home.
Residential, respite, day and dementia care all have different approaches and practices which are designed to best meet the needs of residents who require these types of care. Find out more about the care we provide in our homes.
Ongoing training
When visiting a care setting, it’s always good to speak to as many members of the team as you can. In most care homes you will find that the teams are welcoming and always happy to have a chat.
When speaking to carers, ask about their background and skills so you can get a good understanding of how their expertise will meet the needs of your loved one. Carers will often keep up-to-date with the latest care techniques and practices that provide the best support.
Person-centred care
When talking about the latest best practice and care techniques, a person-centred care approach has been shown to improve outcomes, but what is person-centred care? It’s a type of care that focuses on ensuring each resident plays as much of an active role in their own care as they can. It’s about encouraging independence and communication between carers, residents and their family.
Many care homes are training their teams and switching their approach to person-centred care. Be sure to ask the manager on your show round how person-centred care is implemented in the home. It could make a big difference to the impact of the care your relative will receive.
Family is key
When choosing the right care home, you need to think about yourself and your family too. As you should expect, you should play a key role in your loved one’s care so it’s important to know how much and when you can visit the setting, who will be in contact with you and how often.
Many care homes will ensure that family and friends are able to visit at almost any time, support and have their say. So, make sure you ask questions about this.
Do your research
You should try to find out more about other residents’ experiences in the home. The best way to do this is to visit Carehome.co.uk, the UK’s leading care home review website. There you’ll find reviews for almost every care home in the country, helping you to make the best decision.
Instinct
Our last tip is, of course, to trust your instinct. As with most big decisions in life you know when something is right. Choosing care for a loved one is no different. When you’ve found the right home, you’ll know.
Find out more about our care communities here.
