Care Homes in Newport

Newport has 13 CQC registered care homes. 11 are rated Good, 1 Outstanding, 1 Requires improvement. 11 of the 13 were last inspected more than three years ago.

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

Arranging and paying for a care home place in Newport

The care needs assessment

Almost everything else follows from having a written account of what the person needs, and that document is the care needs assessment. It is free, it is not means tested, and anyone can request one for themselves or on behalf of a relative. Assessments and funded support in this area rest with Isle of Wight Council, whose assessor will work through mobility, washing and dressing, meals, medication, continence, memory and the help family members are already providing. Describe the difficult days rather than the average ones, because an assessment written from a good week tends to understate what is actually needed. Where someone cares for the person without payment, they can ask for a carer's assessment of their own at the same time.

How the money tends to work

If eligible needs are identified, a financial assessment follows, testing capital and income against national thresholds to decide who pays what. Fees are quoted by the week and differ between homes in Newport, so the only figure worth planning around is one a home has put in writing for you. Ask what the weekly rate covers and what is billed separately, since hairdressing, chiropody, outings and some continence products commonly fall outside it. Where the council contributes, the rate it pays may be below a home's private fee, and that difference has to be met through a third party top up rather than taken from the resident. Anyone paying privately should still register the placement with the council, because savings reduce over time and eligibility can be revisited.

Choosing a home in Newport and what to look for

Working through the inspection reports

Ratings are the quickest honest sort available. Across the thirteen homes here, Newport Residential Care Limited holds an Outstanding rating, eleven homes are rated Good and Lathbury Manor Care Home has been told it requires improvement. Read the Outstanding report to learn what excellent looks like in this area, then use that as your yardstick elsewhere. Where a home has been marked down, open the report and find which of the five key questions caused it, how recent the visit was and whether inspectors were worried about records or about the care people actually received. A Good rating earned three years ago tells you less than one earned last spring.

What to look at on a visit

Arrange to call in late in the afternoon rather than mid morning, when a home is at its most presentable. Watch whether staff know residents by name, whether call bells are answered without visible irritation and whether people have anything to occupy them. Ask how long the manager has been in post, how much agency cover the home uses in a typical month and whether residents have named key workers, because continuity shapes daily life more than decor does. Ask what happens if needs increase and whether someone would have to move elsewhere for nursing care. Finally ask for the fee in writing, the terms on which it can rise and what notice applies on either side.

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