Before Moving Day The Pre-Admission Assessment Before your parent moves in, the care home will carry out a pre-admission assessment. A senior carer or manager will either visit your parent at home or in hospital, or invite you both to the care home. They’ll assess your parent’s needs, preferences, medical history, and daily routines to […]
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Not All Care Homes Are the Same for Dementia While most care homes will accept residents with mild dementia, the quality of specialist dementia care varies enormously. A home that’s excellent for someone with physical frailty may be completely wrong for someone with moderate to advanced dementia. Understanding what good dementia care looks like will
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Why This Conversation Is So Hard Suggesting a care home to a parent can feel like telling them you’ve given up on them. It isn’t — but it can feel that way to both of you. Your parent may hear “care home” and think of loss: loss of independence, loss of their home, loss of
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This Happens More Often Than You Think At an average cost of £67,000 to £78,000 per year, even substantial savings can be depleted within a few years. Many families who start as self-funders eventually reach the point where the money runs out. It’s stressful, but there are clear rules about what happens next — and
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What Is NHS Continuing Healthcare? NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) is a package of care that is fully funded by the NHS. It’s free — regardless of how much money or property your parent has. If your parent qualifies, the NHS pays for all their care, whether that’s in a care home or in their own
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What Is the CQC? The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and social care in England. Every care home in England must be registered with the CQC, and they carry out inspections to check the quality of care being provided. If you’re looking at care homes in Scotland, Wales, or Northern
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You Are Not Alone in Feeling This Way If you’re reading this because you feel terrible about the possibility of your parent moving into a care home, you should know that almost every family goes through this. The guilt is nearly universal — and it doesn’t mean you’re making the wrong decision. In fact, the
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The Core Difference The fundamental difference is simple: nursing homes have registered nurses on-site 24 hours a day. Residential care homes do not. Both provide accommodation, meals, personal care (help with washing, dressing, eating), social activities, and round-the-clock support from care staff. But if your parent has medical needs that require regular nursing intervention, they’ll
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Recognising When Things Are Changing It’s rarely a single dramatic event. More often, it’s a slow accumulation of small changes that you notice during visits or phone calls. Your parent might brush things off or not notice the changes themselves. That’s completely normal — and it’s also why families often feel uncertain about when to
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Why This Matters Now If your parent loses the ability to make decisions for themselves — through dementia, a stroke, or any condition that affects their mental capacity — and there’s no Power of Attorney in place, nobody in the family can legally make decisions on their behalf. Not about their finances, not about their
Power of Attorney for Elderly Parents: A Practical UK Guide Read More »