Care Homes in Deal

Deal has 20 CQC registered care homes. 14 are rated Good, 1 Outstanding, 4 Requires improvement, 1 Inadequate. 12 of the 20 were last inspected more than three years ago.

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

Choosing between the care homes in Deal

The grades on this list do genuine work, because they run from Outstanding at one end to Inadequate at the other. That is unusual, and it makes reading the reports the single most useful hour a family can spend.

Taking the ratings seriously

One home holds Outstanding, thirteen are rated Good, four carry Requires Improvement and one is rated Inadequate. Where a home has been rated below Good, the report names precisely what inspectors found, whether that concerned staffing, medicines, safety or leadership, and states what the provider was instructed to put right. Read the date of the inspection as closely as the finding, because a home under new management can improve quickly while a home strong three years ago may not be strong today. Where a home is rated Good, look at what was said about staffing levels and how residents are supported to make their own decisions.

What to look for when you visit

Go at a busy hour rather than a convenient one, and see the home twice if you can. Watch how staff speak to residents who cannot easily reply, whether people appear occupied and how long anyone waits after asking for help. Ask how long the manager has been in post, what turnover among care staff has been like and how the home responds when someone's needs increase. Where a home has been rated below Good, ask exactly what has changed since the inspection and ask to see the evidence rather than accepting reassurance.

Arranging the place and settling the funding

The formal route produces a written statement of need, and that document underpins every later conversation about money.

The care needs assessment

An assessment is free, is not means tested and is open to anyone who appears to need care. It considers washing and dressing, meals, medication, mobility, continence and safety alone overnight, and it takes account of what relatives have observed. Kent County Council Adult Social Care carries out that assessment and the financial assessment that comes after it. A carer's assessment is available separately to the relative who has been providing support, and it is easily forgotten in the rush to find a room.

Fees and who contributes

The financial assessment examines income, savings and capital. Above the national threshold the placement is privately funded and arranged directly with the home; below it, the council contributes up to a level it considers sufficient for assessed needs, and a third party top up may be sought where a more expensive home is preferred. Ask for the weekly rate in writing, what falls outside it, how often fees are reviewed and what happens if savings fall to the threshold while someone is already living there. Ask as well whether the room would be held during a spell in hospital, and what notice either side must give if the arrangement has to end, because those terms are easier to discuss now than in the middle of a crisis.

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