Care Homes in St. Helens

St. Helens has 27 CQC registered care homes. 24 are rated Good, and 3 have not yet been rated. 17 of the 27 were last inspected more than three years ago.

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

Planning and paying for residential care in St. Helens

Starting with a care needs assessment

A move into residential care should follow an assessment rather than a hurried search. The care needs assessment is free, open to anyone who appears to need care and support whatever their means, and it produces the written record of eligible needs that homes will work from. A practitioner from St. Helens Metropolitan Borough Council will consider personal care, mobility, nutrition, medication, mental wellbeing and the risks of remaining at home. If you have been providing care yourself, ask for a carer's assessment during the same conversation, since that is a separate entitlement rather than a favour.

Fees, contributions and what to agree in writing

A financial assessment of income and capital follows where needs are found eligible. The council may then meet the fees in full, meet part of them with a contribution from the person moving in, or conclude that the placement is privately funded. Weekly fees vary between homes and rise where needs are greater, so ask each home for its current fee, exactly what that covers and what is billed separately, such as hairdressing, chiropody or escorted appointments. Where a family expects to add a top up payment to secure a particular room, agree in writing who will carry future increases before anybody moves in.

Choosing a home and what to check before deciding

Reading the inspection report

All twenty seven homes listed here are registered with the Care Quality Commission. Twenty four have been rated Good and three are not yet rated, having registered too recently to be inspected. Inspectors judge whether a home is safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led, and a home rated Good overall can still be weaker in the one area that matters most to your relative, so it is worth reading all five judgements. Check the date of the inspection as well, because a home under new management may have changed since the report was written. For an unrated home, ask who registered it, how long it has been open and who manages it day to day.

What to notice on a visit

See every home you are seriously considering and try to arrive around a mealtime rather than mid morning. Watch how staff speak to residents who are not asking for anything, whether people are dressed and occupied, and how quickly call bells are answered. Ask how many permanent staff are on duty by day and overnight and how much agency cover is used. Homes in this listing include settings such as Greenfields Care Home, Ruskin Lodge, Prospect House Care Home and St Helens Hall and Lodge.

Thinking about what comes next

Ask what the home can manage if needs increase and whether it is registered to support dementia, since a home unable to continue caring for somebody means a second move at the hardest possible moment. Check the practical points too: whether a room takes familiar furniture, how visiting works for a family who work, and what happens about hospital appointments and transport.

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Care Homes near St. Helens

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