Care Homes in Brighton

Brighton has 29 CQC registered care homes. 25 are rated Good, 3 Requires improvement, and 1 has not yet been rated. 25 of the 29 were last inspected more than three years ago.

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

Arranging and funding a care home place in Brighton

Families usually start by looking at homes and end by discovering what they can afford, which is the wrong way round. The funding position shapes which of the twenty eight homes in this Brighton listing are genuinely available, so it is worth opening that question on day one. Two assessments sit behind it, one about need and one about money.

The care needs assessment

A care needs assessment is free and open to anyone who appears to need care and support, with no savings threshold to qualify. East Sussex County Council is the authority responsible for carrying out that assessment and for deciding which of a person's needs are eligible for funded support. The assessor considers washing, dressing, eating, mobility, medication and safety, and asks what the person wants their daily life to look like, before setting out the eligible needs in writing. Request a copy of that record, because homes ask to see it and every funding decision that follows is built on it.

Fees, contributions and what to ask about money

A financial assessment then looks at income, savings and property to determine the person's own contribution. Where the council helps with fees, it funds up to the rate it has set for the assessed level of need, so a family choosing a home priced above that rate may be asked for a third party contribution. Anyone paying their own way contracts with the home directly, and weekly fees in Brighton vary with the room, the level of support and any specialist provision. Ask for the fee schedule in writing, covering what is included, what is charged separately such as chiropody or hairdressing, and how much notice precedes an increase.

Choosing a care home in Brighton and what to look for

With the money question in hand, attention can move to the homes themselves. This listing spans purpose built homes and converted houses supporting only a few residents, so the first decision is about the kind of setting that would suit the person moving in rather than which brochure reads best.

What the inspection ratings tell you

All of these homes are registered with and inspected by the Care Quality Commission. Twenty four are rated Good, among them Crowborough Lodge Residential Care Home, Charlesworth Rest Home, The Lustrells, Pier View House, Swanborough House and Place Farm House. Three are rated Requires Improvement, including Dane House and Westwood Care Home. One, Burlington Mews Care Home, has not yet been rated, which usually reflects a recent registration rather than a concern. Each rating rests on five separate judgements about safety, effectiveness, care, responsiveness and leadership, and the report is where those judgements are explained. A home rated below Good may already have resolved the issue an inspector raised, and the report will tell you precisely what that issue was.

What to notice when you visit

Visit at a busy time, ideally around a meal, and watch whether staff know residents by name and whether people look occupied rather than parked in front of a television. Ask how many carers are on duty by day and by night, how long the team has been in post and how much agency cover is used. Ask who writes and reviews the care plan and whether relatives are part of that. Ask how the home responds when someone's health declines and at what point it would say the needs had outgrown what it can offer, then go back once more at a different hour before committing.

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Care Homes near Brighton

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• Peacehaven
• Burgess Hill
• Lancing
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