Nursing Homes in Portsmouth

Portsmouth has 10 CQC registered nursing homes. 6 are rated Good, 3 Requires improvement, and 1 has not yet been rated. 6 of the 10 were last inspected more than three years ago.

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

What Nursing Care in Portsmouth Involves and What to Look For

Why nursing registration matters

A nursing home offers a permanent room, meals and help with personal care, and adds registered nurses to the rota so clinical tasks can be carried out at any hour of the day or night. That matters where wounds need regular dressing, a feeding tube is in place, a long term condition is unstable or medication has become complicated. The nurse is on the premises rather than visiting, which is the practical difference families notice first. Where nursing input is not required, the assessment will point towards residential care instead.

Reading the inspection picture

Seven of the ten homes hold a Good rating: Hamilton House, Harry Sotnick House, Mary Rose Manor, St Ronans Nursing and Residential Care Home, Bluebell Nursing Home, Home of Comfort Nursing Home and Regency Nursing Home. Cosham Court Nursing Home and Admiral Jellicoe House currently require improvement, and Maxlife Care has not yet been rated. Where improvement has been required, look at which of the five key areas was criticised, when the inspection took place and what the provider has done since. An unrated home has usually registered too recently for inspectors to have called.

Questions that reveal how a home runs

Ask how many registered nurses are rostered by day and overnight, how sickness is covered and how long the manager has been in post. Ask what happens when a resident deteriorates in the early hours, who decides to call an ambulance and how quickly relatives are contacted. Where a specific diagnosis is involved, ask how many residents with similar needs the team supports at present. Visit when the day is busy and watch how staff speak with residents who cannot easily reply.

Getting an Assessment and Funding Nursing Care in Portsmouth

Asking for a care needs assessment

An assessment of need is the correct starting point and is open to anyone who appears to require care and support. Portsmouth City Council Adult Social Care carries out that assessment and decides what funded support should follow from it. There is no charge, no means test applies to the assessment itself, and a relative or advocate may request one on someone else's behalf. The assessor looks at mobility, medication, continence, nutrition, memory and overnight supervision, then writes a support plan describing the care required.

Who pays the weekly fee

A financial assessment then weighs capital and income to set the contribution. Savings above the national upper capital limit usually mean the placement is privately funded, while savings below it bring support from the authority towards an agreed rate. Because all the providers here are registered for nursing, the NHS funded nursing care payment may apply as well, covering the registered nursing element and paid straight to the home. Where a health condition is the main reason care is needed, an assessment for NHS continuing healthcare is worth requesting.

Making sense of the charges

Weekly fees differ according to the room, the amount of nursing time involved and how each home staffs its shifts. Rates are set by providers individually, so only a written quotation for the specific room has real planning value. Ask what the figure covers, what is invoiced separately, how much notice is given of an increase and how often rates are reviewed. If savings may run down within a few years, raise the prospect of council funding before anything is signed.

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