Western Mail Article: Moving into care ... how to get it right

Deputy Minister for Social Services Gwenda Thomas explains what support is available for people moving into a care home.

MAKING the decision to leave your own home and move into a care home is a big event for all concerned.

The first port of call with any decision along these lines would be to social services.
If social services thinks you may need its help, it will arrange for an assessment of your needs to be carried out.

This assessment will look at your health and social care needs and is known as a “unified assessment”.

If it is agreed that you require care, the next step is to consider what help you need to meet your care needs and to agree this with you – the care plan.

It could be decided that you, or your family member, can stay at home with slight alterations made to the house, or that you need help with your personal care needs.

As well as services delivered to the home, you may want to think about other housing options. For example, you could consider moving to a smaller house that would be easier to look after, or moving nearer to relatives, or to a bungalow or house with different facilities.

It is a good idea to investigate these options at the earliest opportunity. Social Services will be able to tell you about the services in your area and help you to explore which are the right choices for your situation.

For those that have recently received hospital treatment the doctor will decide if you are ready to leave.

If you are likely to have difficulties coping at home, your doctor will usually suggest a unified assessment of your needs.

It may be that – after a time for recuperation and with the right support – you will be able to go back to live in your own home. Depending on local arrangements, social services may be able to arrange for you to have six weeks’ free home care to enable this.

Or the NHS and social services can arrange for you to go into a care home or somewhere similar for a while to help regain your independence.

This type of help is known as intermediate care and in Wales it should be provided free of charge for up to six weeks.

Even if you don’t qualify for intermediate care and are not sure whether you wish to move permanently into a care home, you can ask for a trial run and live there temporarily for a while.
If your assessment concludes that your needs are primarily for health care, you may qualify for continuing NHS health care. The NHS can arrange for this care to be provided in hospital, in a care home with nursing which has the facilities you need, or sometimes in your own home.
If the NHS is arranging your care, it will meet all the care costs.

If you decide, having discussed the matter with your doctor, social services and family members, that a move into a care home is the best option, you need to start looking for the home that will suit your requirements best.

Sadly, nobody can tell you which would be the best home for you. But social services can help you decide which will suit your care needs best. You can even ask them to arrange everything for you, if you prefer.

You are free to choose a care home of your choice provided the arrangements can be agreed.
What is certain is that making the decision of moving into a care home can – if taken on your own – be a rather complex and stressful decision.

However, by making the decision in partnership with family members, your doctor and social services you can get as much information made available as possible to help you make the best decision for you and your family.

Given the importance of making the right choice the Welsh Assembly Government will be issuing an information guide to help you through this process.

Thinking About A Care Home – A Guide to What You Need to Know is currently being produced and will be available at the end of February.