Nursing Homes in Wotton-under-edge

Wotton-under-edge has 3 CQC registered nursing homes. 1 is rated Good, 1 Requires improvement, and 1 has not yet been rated. 2 of the 3 were last inspected more than three years ago.

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

Planning and paying for care in Wotton-under-edge

With three homes on the list and three different inspection positions between them, the one thing that can be settled in advance is the money. The starting point is a care needs assessment, which costs nothing and is open to anybody who appears to need care and support, whatever their savings. It produces a written account of what the person needs, and for a nursing placement that record also helps a home judge honestly whether it can meet the need.

The assessment and the council's part

Assessments are arranged through the Gloucestershire County Council social care team, the body responsible for adult social care and for funded support in this area. A separate financial assessment then examines capital and income to establish what, if anything, the council will contribute. Asking for both at the same time avoids running one after the other. A relative can make the request on somebody else's behalf, and a hospital social work team can start the process for an inpatient.

The routes to paying

Above the national capital threshold a placement is privately funded. Below it the council contributes on a means tested basis, with the resident paying an assessed amount from income while keeping a protected personal allowance. Continuing healthcare funding sits with the health service and can cover a placement in full where somebody meets the criteria, and a separate contribution is paid towards registered nursing input. Weekly fees differ between these homes according to the nursing involved and the type of room, and no single local figure applies, so ask in writing how a quoted fee is made up and how often it is reviewed.

Choosing a provider in Wotton-under-edge and what to check

Where the three homes stand

The Park House holds a Good rating from the Care Quality Commission. Westgreen House is rated Requires Improvement, which describes the home at its most recent inspection rather than permanently, and the report sets out precisely what inspectors wanted put right. Pennwood Lodge has not yet been rated, so the usual evidence is unavailable and the questions have to be put in person instead. None of those three positions settles the matter by itself.

What to check in person

Ask how many registered nurses are on duty by day and overnight, and how often those shifts are filled by agency staff. Ask how the home works with district nurses, the resident's own doctor and hospital teams, and what happens when somebody deteriorates in the night. Ask about pressure care, help with eating and drinking, and the approach to end of life care. Where a home has been marked down or has no rating, ask what internal checks it runs and how complaints are handled.

Reading a rating properly

Each overall rating summarises five judgements covering whether a home is safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led, so a home marked down on one may be sound on the other four. For nursing placements the safe and effective judgements usually repay the closest reading. The reports can be opened from the profiles listed here.

Nursing Homes near Wotton-under-edge

• Dursley