family & friends
Your care – what will it look like?
Have you thought about where you will live if/when you can no longer live independently at home?
likely to be within some type of residential care or nursing home. These provide a safe, communal living environment and are either privately owned or run by local authorities or charities. All care homes must meet statutory
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standards of care, are regularly inspected and the reports published. It’s important to remember that you have the right to choose your care or nursing home but it might take time to find one that suits you. All offer at least single-room
accommodation (usually with an en suite bathroom), meals, help with bathing, dressing and other personal care by staff on call 24 hours a day. There’s regular access to medical support from local GPs and district nurses while nursing homes additionally have at least one qualified nurse on duty round the clock.
When looking at care home options, your three main considerations will be:
1. What do you need? A thorough assessment by a health professional or social worker will determine what will best meet your physical needs. People with ongoing illness or disability are more likely to need nursing care.
Planning For Later Life Magazine
hen this time comes you will base your decisions on how and where your needs will best be met, and this is
2. What do you want? Think carefully about your preferred environment – near a busy town or in the country, quiet or buzzing with activity? Can you take your own furniture or pets? Can you have frequent visitors?
“Remember to think carefully about your preferred environment”
3. How will you pay? Care costs vary widely. The more complex your needs the higher the potential costs. You may qualify for state financial help – your local authority will evaluate the value of your assets, including your house and savings. If you need nursing care your local trust will help pay for the nursing element. Talk to your local authority, agencies such as Age UK (
www.ageuk.org.uk) or check out
www.dh.gov.uk for information and advice on cost.
Next steps
Your family, doctor and/or local authority can help you to pinpoint relevant homes, but do check that these homes have the right facilities and skills. Read their brochures and websites, visit and talk to the managers, staff and other residents. Reading the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) report for that home is useful too.
One couple’s story
Last year Pat and Gordon Croton, aged 80 and 81 respectively, moved from a retirement apartment on the south coast into Cornford House, a recently built home in Pembury, Kent. Pat is an amputee who is cared for in the nursing unit while Gordon, who suffers with arthritis, does not yet require such hands-on care. Although they do not share a room the pair spends most of each day together. Gordon particularly appreciates
that staff are constantly on call. “I have an unreliable knee,” he explains, “and several times I have fallen and staff have picked me up.” Despite her disability, Pat participates in many of the home’s activities, such as gardening, card- making and singing, while Gordon chooses not to. “Pat is more sociable than me,” he says. “I really enjoyed last summer
here. The gardens are especially lovely. I also enjoy the many activities on offer and making lots of new friends,” adds Pat.
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