Care Homes in Tamworth

Tamworth has 21 CQC registered care homes. 16 are rated Good, 3 Requires improvement, and 2 have not yet been rated. 15 of the 21 were last inspected more than three years ago.

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

What Residential Care in Tamworth Involves

What a Care Home Provides

The move into residential care is a change of home rather than a medical step, and it helps to picture it that way from the start. Each of the twenty one homes listed for Tamworth is registered to provide accommodation together with personal care, meaning help with washing, dressing, meals, medication and company, delivered by trained care staff around the clock. What they do not provide is clinical care from a registered nurse on site, so anyone with substantial health needs may need to consider a nursing home instead. Most homes will assess a prospective resident themselves before offering a room, and that assessment is a two way conversation worth using.

Reading the Ratings Properly

Sixteen of the homes here are rated Good by the Care Quality Commission, three are rated Requires Improvement and two have not yet been rated. Each rating condenses five separate judgements, covering whether a home is safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led, so two homes carrying the same word can be strong in very different areas. A Requires Improvement rating sometimes points to record keeping, recruitment checks or management oversight rather than to poor care in the lounge, and the report says which. Where a home has no rating, it has not been inspected since registering, which puts more weight on the questions you ask yourself.

What to Look For on a Visit

Arrange to visit at a busy point in the day, such as late morning or over a meal, rather than during a quiet afternoon. Watch whether staff greet residents by name, whether people are occupied or simply sitting, and whether anyone who needs help to eat gets it patiently. Ask how many staff are on duty overnight, how long the manager has been in post and what turnover has been over the past year. Ask too whether the home can keep supporting someone as needs increase, or whether a further move would eventually be necessary.

Getting an Assessment and Sorting Out the Funding

The Care Needs Assessment

An assessment is free, is not means tested and can be requested by a relative, a GP or a hospital discharge team as well as by the person needing care. Staffordshire County Council is the authority responsible for carrying it out for people living in Tamworth and for arranging any funded support agreed as a result. The assessor looks at daily tasks, mobility, medication, safety at home and the strain on any family carer, then records whether a residential placement is the appropriate answer. Having that outcome in writing makes conversations with individual homes considerably more straightforward.

Who Pays and How Much

A financial assessment follows, taking account of both capital and income. Savings above the national upper threshold normally mean funding the place privately, while assets below it bring a council contribution towards a home it considers suitable. Where a family chooses somewhere more expensive than the council will fund, a third party top up is usually required from someone other than the resident. If the person owns a property, a deferred payment agreement can allow fees to be met from its eventual sale rather than forcing a quick one.

Checking What the Fee Covers

Weekly fees vary between homes in the town, and the quoted figure is not always the final one. Ask what happens to the fee if needs increase, how much notice is given of an annual rise, and what is charged while a resident is in hospital. Ask which extras sit outside the fee, since hairdressing, chiropody and escorted appointments are frequently billed separately.

Related searches

• Nursing Homes in Tamworth
• Home Care in Tamworth

Care Homes near Tamworth

• Atherstone
• Lichfield
• Sutton Coldfield