Types of care home
Some care homes, called private homes, are run as businesses. These homes normally set no restrictions on admission apart from a person’s suitability for care.
Other care homes are run by voluntary organisations, who might set conditions for accepting residents, for example people of a particular religion, or people who have served in the armed forces.
- Residential care homes - These homes offer full board and personal care to those who need high levels of support with daily activities and occasional help at night.
- Nursing homes - These homes are for those who need 24 hour care including the terminally ill. Nursing homes employ qualified nursing staff who are available day and night.
- Dual registered homes – Some homes provide both residential and nursing care which means that residents who come to need nursing care in time may not have to move to another home.
- Specialist homes - Some homes specialise in caring for people with dementia or functional mental illness, a disability, or those from a particular cultural, religious or professional background.
- Respite care - Some homes offer respite care which lets you have a temporary stay in a care home while the family or friends who usually look after you have a rest or go on holiday. Respite stays are for up to 8 weeks in a year. The rules for calculating charges for respite care differ from the rules for permanent care home charges. For more information, please contact the Financial Assessment Team.
Registration
By law care homes must be registered by the Care Quality Commission.(CQC) This independent public body regulates all care homes.
CQC carries out inspections of care homes to ensure a minimum standard of care is being provided. The frequency with which CQC inspects any care home will depend upon the care home’s current performance rating.sets out what the service does well, or what it may need to improve on.
Inspection reports can be found on the CQC website or by phoning contacting them directly:
- Tel: 03000 616161 (enquiries)
- Email: enquiries.london@cqc.org.uk
- Website: www.cqc.org.uk
Email this pageLast modified by: Dawn Rowe on 03/04/2009