Arranging care in Rochdale
Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council looks after adult social care across the North West borough of Rochdale, including the towns of Rochdale itself, Heywood, Middleton and Littleborough. Whether your family lives in a terraced street near Rochdale town centre, out towards the Pennines in Littleborough, or in the more suburban parts of Middleton and Heywood, the same local authority team is your first point of contact when care needs start to appear.
How the council supports families
As a Metropolitan Borough, Rochdale Council is the single tier responsible for adult social care in the area. Families usually begin by contacting the council's Adult Care front door to request a free needs assessment under the Care Act 2014. A social worker or assessor will look at daily living, mobility, safety at home and the wellbeing of any unpaid carer. If eligible needs are identified, a financial assessment then works out what, if anything, the person must contribute towards their care, taking into account income, savings and the national capital thresholds set by government.
Local care choices
The local market is reassuringly varied. There are around 115 CQC registered care homes across Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council's area, which gives families a genuine choice between smaller residential care homes in places like Littleborough and Heywood and larger nursing homes closer to Rochdale and Middleton. Home care agencies operate across all four towns, so support in your own home is also a realistic option for many people.
Paying for care
Funding usually comes from a mix of council support for those with lower savings, NHS Continuing Healthcare where the primary need is health related, Attendance Allowance, and self funding for those above the capital threshold. In the Rochdale area, home care typically costs around £20 to £25 per hour, residential care homes average roughly £800 to £950 a week, and nursing homes tend to sit around £950 to £1,150 a week depending on the level of clinical care required.
Starting the conversation
If you are just beginning to think about care for a parent or partner in Rochdale, contacting the council early, even before a crisis, usually opens up more options and gives you time to visit homes and compare providers calmly.
