Residential and residential nursing homes

If you are experiencing difficulties managing at home and feel you may need assistance, then the first step towards arranging suitable care services is to contact your local council social services department to ask for an assessment of your needs to be undertaken. This assessment is known as a community care or a needs assessment.

At this assessment it may be determined that you are no longer able to manage in your own home and that your care needs will be best served through choosing to go into a care home (sometimes called a residential home or residential nursing home). There are two types of main types of home available

i) Care home
Services you should expect at a care home include:

• meals and accommodation
• help with personal care like bathing and dressing
• staff available 24 hours a day
• physical and emotional care
• care through short illnesses

ii) Nursing care home
Nursing care homes also provide meals, accommodation and personal care. However if you have a disability or illness that means you need nursing care on a frequent basis then a care home with nursing (sometimes called a nursing home) might be more appropriate.

A qualified nurse will be on duty 24 hours a day. Naturally, because of the nature of this more specialised care, fees in nursing care homes are generally higher than a standard care home.

You have the right to choose your care home but it must meet your needs, so if you need a nursing care home you may not be able to move into one that cannot provide nursing care.