Care Homes in Pontefract

Pontefract has 30 CQC registered care homes. 15 are rated Good, 1 Outstanding, 9 Requires improvement, and 5 have not yet been rated. 14 of the 30 were last inspected more than three years ago.

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

What residential care in Pontefract involves and what to look for

Daily life in a care home

A residential home gives someone a room of their own in a building where help is available at any hour. Care staff support washing, dressing, medication, meals and moving about, and most homes run activities, handle laundry and housekeeping, and arrange visits from a doctor, chiropodist or hairdresser. The list of facilities tends to look much the same from one home to the next. What actually differs is the atmosphere: the pace of a day, how staff address residents, and whether people appear to be living somewhere rather than being stored somewhere.

Taking these ratings seriously

Of the twenty nine homes here, one is rated Outstanding and sixteen are rated Good, eight have been told they Require Improvement and four carry no rating yet. With more than a quarter of the list under an improvement notice, the reports are essential reading rather than a formality. Concentrate on the safe and well led sections, where staffing, medication handling and management stability are examined, and check when inspectors actually visited. A home that has changed manager since may have acted already, but ask what specifically has changed.

What to notice on a visit

Go at a busy hour rather than mid morning, and go twice if you can. Watch how quickly call bells are answered, whether residents are out of their rooms and occupied, and how staff speak to someone needing help with something private. Ask about overnight staffing, agency use and what the home does when a resident's needs increase. A short candid word with a visiting relative usually tells you more than the guided tour.

Getting an assessment and sorting out the funding

The care needs assessment

A care needs assessment is free and open to anyone who appears to need support, whatever their savings. A practitioner considers mobility, personal care, nutrition, memory, medication and risk, then records in writing what is needed and whether residential care is the right answer. Ask for a copy of that record, because every later decision refers back to it. A relative giving regular unpaid help can also request a carer's assessment of their own needs.

Who pays for a place

Help with fees is decided separately through a financial assessment of income and capital. Wakefield Metropolitan District Council is the authority that carries out both assessments in this area and arranges funded placements for those who qualify, and it is also where to ask about deferred payment agreements when a property is involved. Above the capital threshold a placement is self funded, though the assessment and the impartial advice attached to it remain available and are worth using first.

Understanding the weekly fee

Weekly charges differ considerably between homes and climb where dementia support, a larger room or higher staffing is needed. Ask exactly what the quoted figure covers and what is billed on top, since hairdressing, chiropody and escorted appointments commonly are. Confirm how often fees are reviewed and what notice is given of a rise, and ask whether a third party top up is expected and who would be responsible for paying it.

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Care Homes near Pontefract

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• Wakefield
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