Care Homes in Lancing

Lancing has 4 CQC registered care homes. 4 are rated Good. All 4 were last inspected more than three years ago.

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

Choosing the right care home in Lancing

The buildings will tell you less than the rotas do. Ask who is actually on shift at the weekend and these four homes begin to separate.

What residential registration covers

All four providers hold registration as residential care homes. That means a room, meals and personal care from trained staff, with somebody awake through the night, but not registered nurses on the premises at every hour. For people who need help with washing, dressing, medication and company, it is the right setting. Where a medical need such as complex wound care or tube feeding is involved, a home with nursing registration would be the place to ask instead, so it is worth checking how each provider handles needs that change.

When every home holds the same grade

Appletree House Residential Care Home, Ball Tree Croft, Mermaid Lodge and Stanbridge House all currently hold Good. A shared headline does not make them interchangeable. Open each report and compare the five inspection areas beneath the grade, because a home rated Good throughout reads very differently from one that only just reached the standard in one area. Note the inspection date too, since a judgement made some years ago describes a staff team that may since have changed entirely.

What to look at on a visit

Come twice if you can, once in the morning and once in the late afternoon. Watch whether staff speak to residents rather than about them, whether people have something to do, and whether the garden is in use rather than merely tidy. Ask how the night shift is staffed, how much of the team is permanent rather than agency, and what the home does when somebody becomes unsettled.

Arranging and funding a place in Lancing

Start with a care needs assessment

Request a care needs assessment before fees take over. West Sussex County Council social care team is responsible for carrying one out, and anybody who appears to need care can ask whatever their savings. The assessor sets down the help needed with washing, dressing, eating, medication and supervision at night, and homes will want to read that summary before offering a room.

Who pays, and for what

A financial assessment usually follows, weighing income against capital, and the result decides whether the council contributes towards the fee, whether the cost is shared, or whether the person funds the place themselves. Where the council contributes it agrees a weekly rate, and a relative may be asked to make up the difference at a dearer home. Residential care generally costs less than nursing care, and past that fees in Lancing vary by home and by room, so ask for the schedule in writing and for a clear list of extras such as hairdressing, chiropody or transport to appointments.

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