Nursing Homes in Alton

Alton has 12 CQC registered nursing homes. 8 are rated Good, 1 Outstanding, 1 Requires improvement, and 2 have not yet been rated. 7 of the 12 were last inspected more than three years ago.

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

Planning and Paying for Nursing Care in Alton

Keeping a registered nurse on the premises around the clock is what distinguishes these homes, and it shows up both in the weekly fee and in a more involved set of funding arrangements. Working the money out before falling for a particular home is worth the effort here more than anywhere, since the difference between what a family expects to pay and what is actually payable can be considerable once all the routes are accounted for.

The Care Needs Assessment

Anyone who appears to need care is entitled to a free care needs assessment, whatever their savings, as this first stage is not means tested. It is arranged through Hampshire County Council adult social care, the authority responsible for assessing what support a person needs and for arranging funded care where they are eligible. For nursing care the assessment carries extra weight, because it establishes whether nursing needs exist at all, and that finding determines which homes can lawfully accept the placement.

The Financial Assessment and the Nursing Contribution

A second assessment examines income and capital and decides whether the council contributes towards fees, meets them in full, or whether the family funds the placement. Separately from that, where someone has been assessed as needing nursing care, a contribution towards the nursing element is paid by the health service directly to the home, regardless of the person's savings. Ask each home how that contribution is shown on its invoices, since presentation varies and it is a common source of confusion.

What the Weekly Fee Covers

Fees are charged weekly and take in the room, meals, personal care and nursing. Hairdressing, chiropody, newspapers and outings are usually billed on top. Ask each shortlisted home for its current weekly rate in writing, what would cause it to rise, and what notice applies on either side.

Choosing a Nursing Home in Alton and What to Check

Reading the Published Judgements

One home here is rated Outstanding, eight are rated Good, one is rated Requires Improvement and two await a first rating. The Outstanding report is worth reading closely, since it explains what inspectors considered exceptional. Where a home is rated Requires Improvement, read the report rather than discounting it, noting whether the concerns bore on clinical care and safety or on records and governance, and how recent the inspection was. An unrated home has usually registered recently, so ask how long it has been open.

Questions Specific to Nursing Care

Ask how many registered nurses are on duty during the day and overnight, and how often the home relies on agency nurses to fill a shift. Ask which clinical needs it routinely manages, such as wound care, catheters, diabetes or feeding tubes, and which it would decline. Ask how it works with the local general practice and district nursing team, and what happens when a resident deteriorates at night. Ask too about end of life care and whether the home can look after someone to the end rather than transferring them to hospital.

On the Visit

Go at a busy time, ideally around a meal. Listen to how staff speak to residents who cannot easily reply, and ask how long the nursing and care teams have been in post. A settled staff group matters more in nursing homes than anywhere, because continuity of clinical knowledge about a resident is difficult to replace.

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