Care Homes in West Bromwich

West Bromwich has 16 CQC registered care homes. 8 are rated Good, 4 Requires improvement, and 4 have not yet been rated. 10 of the 16 were last inspected more than three years ago.

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

Planning and paying for a care home place in West Bromwich

Needs and money are assessed through two separate processes, and knowing which one does what removes most of the confusion families run into. Both take time, so both are better started early.

The assessment of need

Every adult who appears to need care and support is entitled to a care needs assessment, free of charge and irrespective of income or savings. Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council is responsible for carrying it out and for the separate financial assessment that follows where funded support may be available. Anyone providing unpaid care can request a carer assessment in their own name. The support plan produced at the end describes the level of care considered necessary, and it is the first thing a home will ask to see.

What the council may contribute

The financial assessment considers 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 pays, it does so up to its own agreed rate, which means a home charging more will generally require a top up from a relative or another third party. If the need is mainly clinical rather than practical, ask whether continuing healthcare funding has been assessed, as that decision is taken through the health service.

Fees and the things that sit outside them

Weekly rates differ according to the room, its size and outlook, and how much personal support is required. Ask for the figure in writing and establish what is charged separately, because hairdressing, chiropody, escorted appointments, newspapers and certain activities often are. Ask what notice is given of an increase, and what happens to the fee if assessed needs rise after a move.

Comparing homes in West Bromwich and what to check

With sixteen to choose between, the work is in narrowing the field rather than gathering more names. Three or four seen properly will tell you far more than a dozen enquiries by email.

Getting real value from the reports

The eight homes rated Good include Whitehall Lodge Care Home, Nicholl Grange, Caldene Rest Home and Hall Green Care Home. Four sit at Requires Improvement, among them Churchfield Court, Pegasus Care Home and Allerton Court, and four have not been rated at all. Read the report rather than the headline. It names which of the five key questions the judgement rested on, what the home was asked to change, and when the inspector called, all of which matter more than the single word on the front.

What to watch for on a visit

Choose a busy hour. Watch whether staff speak with residents rather than about them, whether people are occupied or simply seated, how long a call bell sounds, and how the place feels in the late afternoon when staffing is thinnest. Ask whether you may return unannounced, and pay attention to how readily that is agreed.

The questions that get past the tour

Ask how long the manager has been in post and how much agency cover is used, because stability shows up in everything else. Ask how a fall is handled and who telephones the family. Ask how a new resident is supported through the first fortnight, and what the home has put right since its last inspection.

Related searches

• Nursing Homes in West Bromwich
• Home Care in West Bromwich

Care Homes near West Bromwich

• Smethwick
• Oldbury
• Tipton
• Wednesbury
• Rowley Regis
• Bilston
• Dudley
• Cradley Heath
• Willenhall
• Halesowen