Care Homes in High Wycombe

High Wycombe has 16 CQC registered care homes. 9 are rated Good, 5 Requires improvement, and 2 have not yet been rated. 11 of the 16 were last inspected more than three years ago.

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

Planning and paying for a care home place in High Wycombe

Two assessments govern most placements, one of need and one of means, and they are carried out separately. Knowing which does what saves families a great deal of confusion once things are under way.

The assessment of need

Any adult who appears to need care and support has a right to a care needs assessment, free of charge and whatever their savings. Buckinghamshire Council is responsible for carrying it out and for the financial assessment that follows where funded support may apply. A person providing unpaid care has a separate right to a carer assessment in their own name. The support plan produced at the end describes the level of care considered necessary, and homes will ask to see it before confirming a place.

What the council may pay

The financial assessment examines income and capital, and in most permanent placements the value of a property is included once the relevant disregards have been applied. Where the council contributes, it pays up to its own agreed rate, so a home charging more than that will usually require a top up from a relative or another third party. Where the need is mainly clinical, ask whether continuing healthcare funding has been assessed, as that is decided through the health service rather than the council.

Fees and what they leave out

Weekly rates vary with the room, its size and outlook, and the amount of personal support required. Ask for the figure in writing, then establish exactly what falls outside it, since hairdressing, chiropody, escorted appointments, newspapers and some activities are commonly billed separately. Ask what notice is given before a fee rises, and what happens if assessed needs increase after a move.

Comparing homes in High Wycombe and what to check

Sixteen homes is a large enough field to be selective, and given the spread of ratings here, being selective matters.

Using the reports rather than the ratings

Nine homes hold a Good rating, among them Little Oaks Residential Home, Cotswold Cottage, Ryeview Manor Care Home, Beech Tree House and The Cherries. Five are marked Requires Improvement, including Maria Residential Home, Penley View and Totteridge House, and two carry no rating yet. Each report names which of the five key questions the judgement turned on, along with what the home was asked to change and when the inspector called. A concern about record keeping is a different matter entirely from one about how residents are treated.

What a visit reveals

Go when the home is under pressure rather than at its quietest, and take in the ordinary detail. Whether staff crouch to speak to someone seated, whether residents are occupied or merely placed in front of a television, how long a call bell rings, and how the atmosphere feels in the late afternoon. Ask whether you may return without arranging it first, and note how readily that is agreed.

Questions that get past the tour

Ask how long the manager has been in post and how much agency cover the home uses, because stability shows up everywhere else. Ask how a fall is handled and who rings the family. Ask how someone is supported through the first fortnight after moving in, and what has changed since the last inspection.

Related searches

• Nursing Homes in High Wycombe
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Care Homes near High Wycombe

• Marlow
• Beaconsfield
• Amersham
• Princes Risborough
• Maidenhead
• Chesham
• Gerrards Cross