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If your relative is considering moving to a residential care home or a nursing home, the first step is to obtain needs assessment from the social services department of your local authority. Even if your relative plans to arrange, or pay for, a care home themselves, a needs assessment is very important as it provides a professional assessment of the type of care and support needed. This will help your relative choose a care home best suited to their needs. It can also make you aware of other care services available in your area that you might not have considered before.

All four countries in the United Kingdom and the Channel Islands each have their own regulatory body responsible for keeping a register of all care providers, thus ensuring they meet national standards.

  1. England: Care Quality Commission
  2. Northern Ireland: Regulation & Quality Improvement Authority
  3. Scotland: Care Inspectorate
  4. Wales: Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales
  5. Channel Islands: Health and Social Services
If you wish to check out their facilities we have provided url inks to 4 of their websites, to access any of them them click on your chosen icon below.

If your friend or family member would like to find out what living in a care home is really like, it might be possible to arrange a 'trial stay'. Everyone is different, so only do this if you think your relative would understand the reasons for the visit and benefit from it. You might also be able to arrange a short-term stay for respite care and this could be a good opportunity for them to see what it's like to be in a care home, even if it is only for a week or two.