Nursing Homes in Croydon

Croydon has 33 CQC registered nursing homes. 26 are rated Good, 2 Outstanding, 5 Requires improvement. 19 of the 33 were last inspected more than three years ago.

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

Arranging a nursing placement in Croydon and paying for it

The assessment that comes first

Nursing care rests on a clinical requirement, and that needs establishing rather than assuming. An assessment of need is free, available to anyone who appears to require support and unaffected by savings. It examines mobility, continence, medication, nutrition, memory and the nursing input involved, and results in a care and support plan describing what a home would have to deliver. Ask the London Borough of Croydon adult social care team to arrange one, since it is responsible for assessments and for agreeing the funded support that follows. Relatives providing unpaid care can ask to be assessed in their own right.

Three routes to funding

The council route depends on a financial assessment of income, savings and capital, and in a permanent placement the value of a property is usually included unless a partner or certain other relatives still live there. Because nursing is involved, NHS Funded Nursing Care contributes towards the nursing element and is paid directly to the home, while NHS Continuing Healthcare can meet the whole cost where a person's needs are primarily health related rather than social. All three are assessed separately, and families are frequently told about only the first, so raise the others by name.

Understanding the weekly figure

Fees in this part of London vary considerably, so establish what the quoted figure includes and what is billed on top, whether chiropody, hairdressing, continence products or escorted appointments. Ask how often fees are reviewed and what the last increase amounted to. Ask what the home does when a self funding resident's capital runs down and council support becomes necessary, since that answer determines whether another move could be forced at a difficult moment.

Choosing the right nursing home in Croydon and what to look for

Getting more from the ratings

Two homes here hold Outstanding judgements, among them Chestnut Lodge Care Home, with twenty seven rated Good and three at Requires Improvement. Where most homes share a single word, the reports carry the real information. Start with the date of each inspection, because an older judgement may describe a home that has since changed ownership or management, then read what was recorded about staffing, medicines and how residents spend their days.

Nursing cover is the question to press

Ask how many registered nurses are rostered by day and overnight, and how much of that cover comes from agency staff rather than the home's own team. Ask how falls, pressure areas, chest infections and support at the end of life are handled, and how quickly a GP attends. Ask how long the manager has been in post and what turnover among nurses has been, because a home that cannot retain nurses will struggle with everything depending on them.

Seeing a home properly

Visit at a mealtime rather than mid afternoon, when the pressure on staff is greatest. Watch how residents needing help to eat are supported, how long call bells ring before anyone answers, and whether staff use people's names as they pass. Notice whether anyone has been left alone with nothing to occupy them. Then return on a different day at a different hour before committing to anything.

Related searches

• Care Homes in Croydon
• Home Care in Croydon

Nursing Homes near Croydon

• South Croydon
• Purley
• Beckenham
• Mitcham
• Sutton
• Morden
• Bromley
• Caterham
• Banstead
• New Malden