Arranging care in Medway
Medway Council is the unitary authority for the Medway Towns in the South East of England, covering Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham, Strood and Rainham along with the surrounding villages. Because Medway is a unitary authority, all adult social care services are run directly by the council itself rather than being split between a county and district, which means families have a single point of contact when they start looking for support.
Needs and financial assessments
The first step for most families is to contact Medway Council's adult social care team and request a needs assessment. This assessment is free, it looks at how someone is managing day to day, and it helps identify whether the right support might be home care, a move into one of the residential care homes in the area, or nursing homes for those with more complex medical needs. If the assessment shows eligible needs, Medway will then carry out a financial assessment to work out how much, if anything, the person is expected to contribute towards their care based on their income, savings and assets against the national capital thresholds.
Choice of care providers across the Medway Towns
The local care market is well developed, with 177 CQC registered care homes across Medway. That gives families a genuine choice of settings, from smaller residential care homes in quieter parts of Rainham and Rochester through to larger nursing homes closer to Chatham, Gillingham and Strood, so relatives can usually stay near loved ones during visits.
Paying for care and typical fees
Funding can come from Medway Council, from NHS Continuing Healthcare where a person has a primary health need, from deferred payment agreements secured against a property, or privately. As a rough guide for the South East, home care tends to sit around £22 to £28 per hour, residential care homes are commonly £900 to £1,200 per week, and nursing homes typically run from £1,100 to £1,500 per week depending on the level of clinical support required.
Starting these conversations early with Medway Council, and visiting a shortlist of homes in person, usually makes the process feel far more manageable.
