Care Homes in Arundel

Arundel has 5 CQC registered care homes. 5 are rated Good. 3 of the 5 were last inspected more than three years ago.

Source: Care Quality Commission register, kept up to date as ratings change.

Arranging and Funding a Placement in Arundel

The care needs assessment

An independent account of what support a person requires is the sensible starting point, and a care needs assessment provides it. The assessment records the help needed with washing, dressing, eating, mobility and medicines, and notes anything clinical that must continue day to day. It is free and open to anyone who appears to need care, whatever their savings, so it is worth requesting even where the family expects to fund care itself. A relative providing most of that support can request a separate carer assessment alongside it.

Where public funding fits

A financial assessment follows, weighing income, savings and capital to set the contribution expected and to establish whether public money meets the balance. Property is treated differently depending on circumstances, including whether a spouse remains living in the home, so that point is worth raising directly rather than assumed. The adult social care team at West Sussex County Council carries out both assessments and can explain what support may be available while an application is under consideration.

Bringing cost into focus

Ask each home for a written fee schedule that separates accommodation, personal care, laundry, activities, chiropody, hairdressing and transport to appointments, with anything charged as an extra clearly marked. Ask how often fees are reviewed and by roughly what margin in recent years. Where a council contribution applies, establish whether a third party top up would be expected and who would be responsible for it.

Choosing Between a Small Field of Homes

Reading four Good reports closely

With four homes listed and all four rated Good, the rating cannot separate them. The reports behind those judgements can. Check when each was published, since an older report may describe a staff team that has since changed entirely. Read what inspectors said about staffing levels, medicines management and how residents spend their day, and note whether a service was commended for something specific or simply found to be meeting expectations. Those details are where genuine differences show themselves.

What to look for in person

Spend time in the communal areas rather than touring only the show bedroom, and go late in the afternoon when staffing is thinnest. Notice whether staff speak to residents in passing or only while carrying out a task. Ask who writes the care plan, how often it is reviewed, and how families are told about a fall or a change in health. Questions about staff turnover and agency cover are reasonable and the answers say a great deal about continuity.

Before committing

Ask about trial periods, the notice required on either side, and what the home would do if needs increased beyond its registration. Given how few homes are listed here, it is also worth asking each one to tell you when a place is likely to become free.

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