How do care home needs assessments work?

An essential part of moving into care is a care home needs assessment, which aims to identify what care you need and whether your chosen home can provide it. But what can you expect from a care home needs assessment with Borough Care? In this article, we’ll share helpful information about care home needs assessments, what you can expect from a Borough Care needs assessment and how we can support you in moving into a Borough Care home. 

Social services care assessments & care home needs assessments: what’s the difference?

When moving into care, there are a few different assessments that you may need to do. Depending on your circumstances, you might speak to an appointed social worker about receiving a social services care assessment before having a care home needs assessment from the home you’re looking to move into. However, what’s the difference between the two?

Social services care assessments

A social services care assessment is carried out by an appointed social worker and involves a visit from them to learn more about you and your care needs. The aim of this assessment is to understand if you’re in need of care and, if so, to help direct you towards the care that’s best suited to you; residential care, dementia care or nursing care. To learn more about social services care assessments, read our help and advice for people living with dementia. 

Care home needs assessments

A care home needs assessment is a separate assessment carried out by the care home you’re interested in moving into. Similarly to a social care needs assessment, this assessment will consist of questions about your health and care needs. However, the aim of this assessment is to find out if the care home is able to offer the care that you require. 

Wondering if it’s the right time to move a loved one into care?

A few signs to look out for could include:

🛀 Struggles with day-to-day tasks
🏥 A medical condition or syndrome diagnosis
🏓 Less of an interest in hobbies

Find more support: https://t.co/a4VpIe0cdC@careuk pic.twitter.com/gwEOTVAK30

— Borough Care (@BoroughCareLtd) March 15, 2023

How does a care home assessment work at Borough Care?

Even if you’ve received a social care needs assessment, we’d still need to do our own in order to understand your care needs. A social care assessment helps to give someone an idea of whether or not they need care, whereas the Borough Care needs assessment lets us know if we can meet your needs. To give more of an idea of the process of receiving a care home needs assessment at Borough Care, we’re laying out all the steps involved in the process. Here’s what you can expect from your assessment. 

Getting in touch

Reaching out to our team is the first step in your care home needs assessment journey. There are a number of different ways you can contact us about your care home assessment with Borough Care. Depending on your preference, you can reach out via email at enquiries@boroughcare.org.uk, call us at 0161 475 0140 or contact us via social media on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram or Twitter. Once you do, our team will be in touch to help you through the process. 

Organising your assessment

After an initial enquiry, we’ll organise for one of our Home Managers or Deputy Home Managers to visit you for your assessment. This would involve us booking a meeting with the person who’s looking to move into care and their carer. If you’re interested in a specific home, we’ll always try to send out the Home Manager or Deputy Home Manager from that care home. This way, you can get to know more about the home that you’re interested in and we can understand if the home can offer the best care for you.

When is respite care needed?

Making a decision about your, or a loved one’s, care can be overwhelming, especially if you’re new to care and knowing what care options are available to you. Respite care offers a short-term, and often much-needed, break from the challenges and stresses that come with full-time care. Temporary care may be needed for a number of different reasons and can act as both respite for the carer and for the person who is being cared for. 

How to know if your loved one could benefit from respite care 

Sometimes, it can be hard to know if your loved one might benefit from temporary care. Often, carers may feel guilty when considering putting a loved one into temporary care. However, it’s important to remind yourself that you’re doing what’s best for your loved one and, sometimes, extra support is exactly what you and your loved one need. If you’re unsure when to know if your loved one may benefit from respite care, here are a few signs to look out for:

  • Your loved one seems lonely or disinterested in their favourite activities and hobbies
  • There’s been a recent accident or incident that has impacted your loved one’s ability to take of themselves safely 
  • Your loved one needs more specialist support with a specific condition e.g. dementia

How to know when you could benefit from respite care

Caring full-time for a loved one can be difficult to balance alongside work and your personal life, and is something that should never be overlooked. Sometimes, carers need a break from caring too. When you feel like you need a moment of calm to yourself, respite care can offer the support you need in the short term. You may want to consider organising respite care for a loved one if you:

  • Need additional support on a short-term basis e.g. if you’re busy, unwell or overwhelmed 
  • Plan to take a trip and need someone to care for your loved one in the meantime
  • Think your loved one may benefit from meeting new people or spending time with others in a care home – perhaps if they’re particularly lonely  
  • Want to try out respite care before moving your loved one into care on a permanent or long-term basis

If you feel as though you can relate to any of the above, it may be time to consider respite care and the support that it can provide for both you and your loved one. To learn more about our respite care home facilities, speak to our team at enquiries@boroughcare.org.uk. 

What steps are involved in getting someone placed in respite care?

At Borough Care, the process of moving a loved one into care on a short-term basis follows the same format as organising a long-term or permanent stay. Whilst respite care will be temporary, the care we provide is always the same high-quality standard no matter how long you’ll be staying. To give you an idea of what to expect, here’s an overview of the process of moving a loved one into Borough Care for a temporary period: 

Getting in touch with our team 

The first step in organising respite care for your loved one is reaching out to our team to discuss what you’re looking for. There are a few different ways to contact our team, who will always be happy to help and guide you through the process of receiving the care you need. 

You can reach out to us via:

Organising your assessment 

After our initial conversation, we’ll organise an assessment with you and your loved one to understand what specific care you’ll need from us. This is called a care home needs assessment, and will involve us visiting you and your loved one to ask a few questions about your physical and personal care. We’ll speak to you about how long you’d like to stay in care, what specific medical requirements you have, and what well-being support you currently have in place, and will answer any questions you have for us as well. 

Moving into our care homes

When we’ve completed your care assessment and determined if we can offer you the specific respite care you need, we can organise your move into care together. Each of our residents receives a unique temporary care plan tailored to their specific needs and requirements. We’ll discuss this with you and work with you to build your plan together. If, unfortunately, we believe we’re unable to offer you respite care, due to availability at our homes or if we feel we can’t provide you with the care you need, we’ll support you in your next steps. 

What to look for in a respite care provider

When choosing the perfect respite care provider for your loved one, there are a few key things to consider. The first is what type of care you’re looking for; is it a one-off short stay at a care home, while you’re on a trip? Or are you looking for a longer-term solution? Once you’ve decided what type of respite care you’re looking for, you can begin searching for the right care provider.

Some questions to ask yourself when searching for the right care home provider for you and your loved one could be:

  1. Is there availability at their homes? Can you move in straight away, or will it be a long wait before you can move in? 
  2. What activities are available? Will your loved one be able to get involved in plenty of fun activities and events? 
  3. Does the home offer the specialist services you need? 
  4. Do you feel comfortable, and at ease, when visiting the home? 
  5. If you wanted to visit during their short stay, is it easy to do?

Borough Care offers specialist dementia care for both short and long-term stays across Stockport and Staffordshire. Whilst we have many residents who live with us on a permanent basis, we also have residents who come for daycare, some who have visited for a week of respite care, and others who visit each month for a few days of respite. 

Learn more about our respite care options

We have 12 care homes across Stockport and Staffordshire, each of which offers respite and short-stay care options for all residents. Whether you’re looking for support for a loved one who has recently had an unexpected illness, or daycare for a loved one in need of more socialisation, we’re here to support you through the process. For help and advice with organising a respite stay at Borough Care, reach out to our team at enquiries@boroughcare.org.uk.

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