Care Homes in Reading

Reading has 25 CQC registered care homes. 16 are rated Good, 2 Outstanding, 6 Requires improvement, and 1 has not yet been rated. 20 of the 25 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 Reading and What to Look For

Residential care covers accommodation, meals, laundry and help with everyday personal care from staff on site at every hour, but it does not include care from a registered nurse. Settling whether nursing is needed is the first decision, because it determines whether these twenty five homes are the right field at all.

Being clear about the help required

Write down where the difficulty actually lies, whether that is mobility, continence, appetite, confusion at night or keeping track of medication. Ask each home which specialisms it holds registration for, particularly dementia, and what it does when a resident's needs grow beyond what residential care can meet. A manager who can describe how that was handled for someone real is giving you a far better answer than a brochure.

Reading the inspection outcomes

St Lukes and The Oaks Care Home and Peppard House hold the two Outstanding ratings here. Fifteen homes are rated Good, seven are rated Requires Improvement and one is not yet rated. That proportion at Requires Improvement is worth taking seriously without treating it as an automatic bar, so open each report, check the inspection date and see which of the five key questions were marked down. Concerns about medicines or staffing call for a fuller explanation than concerns about record keeping.

What a visit will tell you

Visit when the home is busy rather than at a quiet hour. Watch how staff speak to residents who are not expecting a visitor, whether people are occupied and how quickly call bells are answered. Ask how many carers are on duty overnight, how much agency cover is used and how long the manager has been in post. Ask to see a room that is genuinely available, and stay while a meal is served if you can.

Arranging and Funding a Care Home Place in Reading

The care needs assessment

Anyone who appears to need care and support has a right to an assessment, and a relative, a GP or a hospital discharge team can request one on their behalf. It is free and does not depend on income or savings. Reading Borough Council Adult Social Care carries out that assessment and the financial assessment that follows, which establishes how much of the weekly fee the council meets and how much the resident contributes.

What a place costs

Fees are set by each provider and vary noticeably between homes, so ask for a written schedule rather than a figure given on the telephone. Check what falls outside the weekly charge, such as hairdressing, chiropody, newspapers or escorted appointments. Where the council funds a placement it pays up to a set rate, and a family choosing a more expensive home may be asked to meet the difference each week.

Settling the details before a move

Ask how much notice precedes a fee increase, whether the room is held during a hospital stay and what the home does when private savings fall to the level at which council support begins. Ask how care plans are reviewed and how families are kept informed when something changes. Answers in writing now prevent difficult conversations later.

Related searches

• Nursing Homes in Reading
• Home Care in Reading

Care Homes near Reading

• Wokingham
• Tadley
• Crowthorne