Establish the level of care on offer, and the level of care you need.
One of the biggest sources of confusion we see and hear from those enquiring at Aura Care is establishing what type of care we offer and the type of care potential residents need. There are varying levels of care available in homes. Some specialise in those with degenerative condition such as Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease and End of Life Care
There are also differences between those offering Care and Nursing. Care homes will not have Registered Nurses working within the home.
What is the difference between a Care Home and a Nursing Home?
A care home offers 24 hours care to their residents which is provided by qualified Care team. This is often for those who need help with their mobility or maybe finding the general activities of daily living have become challenging.
A Nursing Home provides 24 hour care to their residents through Registered Nurses who are supported by a team of experienced carers . This is often for those who need the specialist input from a qualified Nurse to support them with more complex health concerns.
It is important to think about the future as well as the needs of your relative at the moment. While your relative may only need help with basic things such as mobility issues, they may well need nursing care in the not too distant future.
My parent has dementia, do they need a Care home or Nursing Home?
The answer here is not as simple, Dementia Care is another complex offering that is not offered by all Care Homes. You need to ensure that your chosen Care or Nursing Home, offer specialised Dementia Care that offers the right type of understanding and compassionate care for your loved one.
Aura Care in Camberley and Stratton court offer varying levels of care Nursing Care, Residential Care, Dementia care and specialise in End of life care.
Read a brochure and website, check on websites such as carehome.co.uk to read reviews.
Reviews are essential to give you a good understanding of what the care environment is really like. Realistically, not all reviews can be positive, but the good news is that often shows that they are not filtered or fraudulent. carehome.co.uk is a fantastic resource as it verifies all reviews are genuine, plus provides you with a host of information including the levels of care available, galleries and brochures.
Brochures are a lovely guide to show you some of the facilities on offer and can give you an idea as to the look and feel of the home itself.
Another essential thing to research at are the social media pages of the homes. This should show you the varying activities on offer, positive feedback from their followers and lots of exciting things to look forward to. Ensuring there are lots of variety of activities and great looking food is going to give you a good idea as to what life is really like every day in the home.
Contact care home manager to organise a visit.
Speak to the Care Home Manager and organise a visit for yourself and your loved one. You can always go on your own first as it may be overwhelming for your loved one first time and they can come with you for the next visit. We often recommend people to go and visit a number of homes and pick their favourite three and then take their loved ones to visit. This way you can really compare a variety of homes and offerings and find the perfect fit which works for you and your family.
Check CQC report to discuss at the meeting with the care home manager.
CQC reports can be really useful in discussing areas where the care home has excelled and improved. CQC reports can often be outdated being over 3 years old, so many changes may have occurred since them. However, by using them in your discussions with the Care Home Manager, you can see where the home has improved over the past few years and how they have changed. It provides a great way to really ask the questions you need and get much more information as to how the home runs.
The main thing we advise those looking for a care facility for their loved one is to ask as many questions as you can think of. A good care facility will be more than willing to guide you through the very difficult and emotional decision to place a relative or friend in a care facility so ensuring it is the right place is essential to ensure everyone is happy with their decision.
