Arranging care in Staffordshire
Staffordshire County Council is the upper tier authority responsible for adult social care across a large part of the West Midlands, covering Stafford, Burton upon Trent, Lichfield, Tamworth, Cannock, Rugeley, Uttoxeter and Newcastle-under-Lyme, as well as the villages and rural communities in between. Because it is a county council, adult social care sits with Staffordshire rather than with the district councils that handle things like bins and housing, so this is the team a family should contact when care needs first appear.
The starting point is a free needs assessment arranged through Staffordshire County Council. A social care practitioner will look at how the person is managing day to day, whether that is at home in Cannock or in a family setting near Lichfield, and identify what support would help. If care is needed, a separate financial assessment then looks at income, savings and property to work out how much the council will contribute. National capital thresholds apply, so people with savings above the upper limit are usually expected to fund their own care, while those below may receive help from Staffordshire towards the cost.
Choice of homes and typical fees
Families across Staffordshire have a genuinely wide choice, with 436 CQC-registered care homes in the county. That includes small residential care homes in market towns like Uttoxeter and Rugeley, larger nursing homes near Stafford and Burton upon Trent, and specialist dementia settings around Tamworth and Newcastle-under-Lyme. Home care is also widely available for people who would prefer support in their own house or flat.
As a rough guide, home care in Staffordshire tends to sit around £20 to £25 an hour, residential care homes typically cost in the region of £900 to £1,100 a week, and nursing homes are usually higher again, often £1,100 to £1,400 a week, reflecting the extra clinical input. Funding routes include council funded care after a means test, NHS Continuing Healthcare where health needs are primary, NHS-funded Nursing Care contributions in nursing homes, deferred payment agreements secured against a property, and full self-funding.
If you are just starting out, contacting Staffordshire County Council for a needs assessment is usually the most useful first step, even if you expect to pay privately.
