Care home managers

My Mum's Daughter

Registered User
Feb 8, 2020
438
0
After 3 years of looking after Mum and with her full agreement, we have decided that the time has come for fulltime care.

I've called a local care home which has been recommended and given then a full list of her needs, none of which involve nursing. The manager refuses to even tell me if the home is suitable as he has to discuss her case with her social worker first. He says that he needs to discuss her nursing needs which she doesn't have and also her funding.

I've nothing against the social worker but we've met her once and her entire knowledge is based on what she's been told by me!

Has anyone else come across all this when looking for a care home?
 

canary

Registered User
Feb 25, 2014
24,920
0
South coast
Looking for a care home is not the easiest thing, but no care home is going say that a person would be accepted over the phone. They have to assess the person themself - usually by talking to care agencies and/or SW, plus assessing them in person.

Recently OH went into respite for a couple of weeks and even then they wanted to assess him. We went to have a look at the home, have some tea and cake and OH was discretely assessed while we were there.

I think its normal practise.
 

Rosettastone57

Registered User
Oct 27, 2016
1,837
0
When my mother in law was in hospital we looked for a care home. She was self funding so social services weren't involved. The care home manager came to the hospital to assess her and speak to medical staff about her needs. They certainly wouldn't have considered taking her after a phone conversation with me. As @canary has said this is normal practice
 

northumbrian_k

Volunteer Host
Mar 2, 2017
4,363
0
Newcastle
Is the social worker involved because your Mum would be dependent on Local Authority funding? If she would not be and would be able to self-fund there would be no need for social worker involvement. Things may have changed post-Covid but when I was looking for a home for my wife I visited a few possibilities. This enabled me to see what they were like and chat face to face with senior staff about her needs. Social workers were not involved in the process. The home that she moved to took her for an initial trial period that allowed an assessment of her needs and its ability to meet them.
 

My Mum's Daughter

Registered User
Feb 8, 2020
438
0
I didn't ask them to take her via a phone call! I asked if the care home was suitable for her needs.

At this stage, we wanted to book a visit to see if we liked it and if we were, we were perfectly happy for them to meet Mum and do their own assessment.

I explained that Mum would be self-funded with no nursing needs so why did this Manager need to discuss funding with a social worker who has no idea of Mum's financial position?
 

canary

Registered User
Feb 25, 2014
24,920
0
South coast
explained that Mum would be self-funded with no nursing needs so why did this Manager need to discuss funding with a social worker who has no idea of Mum's financial position?
I think the point of it is that the care home wants an independent assessment of their needs - be it from SW, care agency, hospital, GP or their own trial period assessment (not all homes do a trial period). Without an independent assessment the care home would not be able to say whether they would be able to meet her needs. I know that you gave them a list of her needs and Im sure you were truthful, but unfortunately not everyone. Some people will underplay their needs, some dont think its important that eg sometimes they are aggressive and others may be in denial about the problems, so they dont just go on what relatives tell them.

They also want to check to see whether SS will be funding the care home fees. Lots of care homes want to be sure of being paid the fees before they assept someone.

If it had been a definite "no" they would have said there and then. While I was looking for respite for OH I phoned many homes who told me early on that he was not suitable. I suspect that the home you are thinking of sees it as a "maybe", but wants further corroboration of his needs and will also want to assess them themselves before committing themselves.
 

My Mum's Daughter

Registered User
Feb 8, 2020
438
0
@canary I think me be honest about Mum's condition may have caused the problem. Mum is an extremely fit old lady with Alzheimer's. Weather permitting, we do our daily mile or so walk so in a care home setting, she's unlikely to spend her day sitting in a chair.

In the last 3 years, social worker and doctor have both seen her once, memory nurse has visited twice and she's only been to hospital for an x-ray so she's very much an unknown to the agencies. I'll ring a few more homes tomorrow.
 

My Mum's Daughter

Registered User
Feb 8, 2020
438
0
UPDATE

We think we've found a suitable home for Mum. I've given them a very honest rundown of her needs which they can accommodate and they will assess Mum by meeting her. We've gone for a place with a homely feel and friendly, caring staff.

I've accepted that Mum can no longer live alone and for me to move in would be extremely foolish.
 

update2020

Registered User
Jan 2, 2020
333
0
Care Homes are private businesses and a little bit a law unto themselves in terms of which business they accept, or don’t. I’ve dealt with many over the years and they were all very different. I’m glad you have found somewhere that you are happy with. Hoping it goes well for all of you.
 

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
137,810
Messages
1,990,205
Members
89,473
Latest member
SuzieMK27