Care Homes in South Shields

South Shields has 15 CQC registered care homes. 13 are rated Good, 1 Outstanding, 1 Requires improvement. 12 of the 15 were last inspected more than three years ago.

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

What residential care in South Shields involves and what to look for

A care home provides a permanent room, meals and help with the daily tasks that have become difficult, from washing and dressing through to medication and moving safely about the building. Staff are on duty overnight, though the support given is personal rather than clinical.

A strong local picture, read properly

Harton Grange holds an Outstanding rating. Thirteen homes are rated Good, among them Cheviot Court, Westoe Grange Care Home, Fairholme, Wallace Lodge and Marine Park View, and one is marked Requires Improvement. Where almost every home shares a rating, the rating stops separating them, and the report underneath does the work instead. Look at which of the five key questions each judgement rested on, what inspectors singled out for praise, and when the visit took place.

Matching the home to the person

Homes differ less in the tasks they perform than in the atmosphere they keep, and no rating captures that. A place where everyone eats together at fixed times suits one person and unsettles another. Ask what a typical day looks like, how much choice residents have about when they get up and what they do, and how the home supports someone whose memory is failing.

What a visit should tell you

Go when the home is busy rather than at its quietest, and return unannounced if you can. Watch whether staff speak with residents or merely about them, whether people are occupied, and how long a call bell sounds before anyone comes. Ask how long the manager has been in post and how much agency cover is used, because stability tends to show in everything else.

Getting an assessment and arranging the funding

Needs and means are assessed separately, and both run to their own timetable, so both reward an early start.

The care needs assessment

Every adult who appears to need care and support is entitled to an assessment, free of charge and whatever their savings. South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council is responsible for carrying it out and for the financial assessment that follows where funded support may apply. Anyone providing unpaid care has a separate right to a carer assessment. The support plan produced at the end describes the level of care considered necessary, and homes will ask to see it.

How the fee is met

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 rate, so a home charging more will usually need a top up from a relative or another third party. If the need is mainly clinical, ask whether continuing healthcare funding has been assessed, as that is decided through the health service.

Fees and extras

Weekly rates vary with the room and the level of support required. Ask for the figure in writing and establish what sits outside it, since hairdressing, chiropody, escorted appointments and some activities are commonly charged separately. Ask what notice is given before a fee rises and what happens if assessed needs increase.

Related searches

• Nursing Homes in South Shields
• Home Care in South Shields

Care Homes near South Shields

• North Shields
• Jarrow
• Hebburn
• Wallsend
• Whitley Bay
• Sunderland
• Washington
• Gateshead
• Newcastle Upon Tyne
• Cramlington