Care Homes in Gateshead

Gateshead has 27 CQC registered care homes. 23 are rated Good, 2 Outstanding, 1 Requires improvement, and 1 has not yet been rated. 13 of the 27 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 Gateshead

Twenty seven homes is a list a family can genuinely work through, which is an advantage. It means you can afford to read every inspection report that matters to you rather than skimming, and still have time to visit properly.

Making sense of the inspection outcomes

Most homes in Gateshead are rated Good, and Blaydon Lodge and The Manor House Whickham hold an Outstanding rating. Homes including The Oaks Care Home, Springvale Court and The Highlands are rated Good, while two homes are rated Requires Improvement and one, Hadrian House, has no published rating yet. An absent rating usually means a home has not yet been inspected under its current registration rather than anything worrying. Where a home is rated Requires Improvement, the useful question is what the report actually describes and how recently it was written.

What to look at on a visit

Arrange a proper look round, then call in again briefly at a different time of day. Notice whether residents are up and dressed, whether anyone is sitting alone for long stretches, and whether staff greet people by name. Ask how many permanent carers work overnight and how often agency staff fill gaps. Ask how long the manager has been in post, because settled leadership tends to show up in everything else. Ask what happens if needs change, since choosing a home that can adapt spares a second move later.

The details that get overlooked

Check what the weekly fee includes and which things are billed on top, such as hairdressing, chiropody and transport to appointments. Ask how care plans are reviewed and how families hear when something changes. Ask about visiting, meals taken together, and how the home links up with local surgeries and district nursing teams.

Arranging an assessment and funding the placement

Sorting the assessment and the money before committing to a home avoids agreeing to fees that cannot be sustained. Both steps take longer than families expect, so it is worth starting them early.

Requesting a care needs assessment

Anyone who appears to need care can ask for an assessment, free of charge and regardless of savings. Get in touch with Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council adult social care to request one, or ask a hospital discharge team to make the referral if the person is on a ward. The assessor records what support is needed and whether residential care is the right answer, and family carers can request an assessment of their own needs too.

How the money is worked out

A financial assessment measures income and capital against nationally set thresholds. Above the upper threshold most people pay their own fees, although they can still ask for an assessment and for advice. Below it the council contributes and agrees a personal budget for meeting the assessed needs, and a home charging more than that budget usually requires a third party contribution. If nursing care is needed as well, a separate contribution is paid by the National Health Service straight to the home.

Related searches

• Nursing Homes in Gateshead
• Home Care in Gateshead

Care Homes near Gateshead

• Newcastle Upon Tyne
• Hebburn
• Washington
• Jarrow
• Wallsend
• Chester Le Street
• Stanley
• North Shields
• South Shields