What do you / your loved ones look for in a care home? Share your thoughts with CQC - £300 Love2Shop voucher to be won NOW CLOSED

I think the main thing I would look out for is if the patients are happy in their surroundings because if they arent it would be obvious to me there is something amiss! Then I would look at the cleanliness and how approachable, friendly and caring the staff were. It would also be important as to what activities are available as this is also important for the patients well being...

First impressions count, and when I was looking for a nursing home for my father, I rated the welcome I received. In the home that I finally chose, I was warmly greeted by the receptionist and shown into a quiet room where I could chat to her and the manager. The second "tick box" was the atmosphere. Old time music was being played and the residents were enjoying singing or listening. The member of staff in charge of activities was actively engaging with all in the room. I noticed no smell and everything was clean. I think it also important to see how the staff work as a team and I liked that there was some friendly banter going on. My Dad settled very well in their care until his recent death and we were treated with kindness throughout. I'm so pleased that I didn't read the CQC inspection reading before I visited as it painted a very harsh picture.

The right care home is a personal experience influenced by a range of factors. Location, location, location; its accessibility for the family are vital. The overall atmosphere is central, influenced both by the attitude of the care staff, the design and activities available.

1. Atmosphere
2. Proximity
3. Staff
4. Facilities
5. Reputation

Do you feel welcomed by the staff and feel comfortable there?
Do all the staff seem approachable, not just the nurses?
Can you visit at any time you wish, just turn up with no notice?
Does it seem homely not like a show home?
Are there places less sociable residents can go to sit quietly, not just one sitting room with the TV blaring totally inappropriate programmes

One of my mother's neighbours is a hairdresser who visits homes. She told me that, if my mother ever needed to go into a home, go and see her. When the time came, I remembered what she had said and went to see her. She recommended a home and I went to see it.

The staff were friendly and professional and the place looked clean. The food was good and there was entertainment if the residents wanted to join in. My mother had dementia and it was just a residential home but they took her for a 'trial' day. All went well on both sides so she moved in. She had her own en-suite room although, of course, we had to pay more for this.

I used to visit at irregular times and didn't discover anything wrong. My mother took against soap and water so, at bath time, they used to take her first before she had time to build up some resistance!

As a nursing student I spent 3 months visiting care homes with a very experienced nursing sister. Apart from the basic cleanliness approachable pleasant staff, she always looked at the lady residents. Were they dressed appropriately in clean and nicely coordinated clothes? Was their hair clean and nicely done? Had their nails been well cared for? Were they wearing a dab of makeup? If the answer was yes to these, you could be fairly sure the staff were caring and respectful of ther residents autonomy. This benchmark stood me in good stead for many years to come in my career.

We went to a care home the other day for a Spring Fair. It was held in the residents' living room, and it was everything I would hate in a care home. Too hot. Dreadful old fashioned music tape playing all the time. Staff walking around with disposable plastic aprons over their overalls. The door to one of the bedrooms was open, and it was just that, a small bedroom. I came away feeling depressed. Although DD did win the raffle so it wasn't all bad.

So, I would like to spend as much of the day in my own decently furnished room, regulating the temperature myself, as I wished. Have windows open as and when I wanted. Be left to my own devices, with only really necessary checks on my welfare. And be allowed out whenever I wanted to go.

Perhaps the government's Every child matters could be adapted to Every person needing care matters. A good care home would show respect for individual differences. Staff need to be well trained and paid to ensure they enjoy their work and stay in their jobs.i dread being patronised and controlled. After seeing several homes which were awful institutions, we chose a lovely place for my mother in law. It was obvious they spent money on the surroundings and were not just about profit and they cared about their people, both residents and staff.

Having worked in care homes for nearly 20 years I have seen both very good homes with a low cqc score and bad homes with high scores.

I would want a home where:

I could be called by my nickname. One home banned this practice for clients, they all had to be addressed by their full first name even if they had never been called it.

My choices were allowed. I like tea but every now and again I want a coffee, I don't want to be told that I always have tea.
I choose to wear jeans/leggings etc, I don't want my loved ones to be told I need to have skirts because its easier for care staff to put on.

I can go to bed when I want. Some days I'm shattered and I want to go to bed at 7pm and read or watch TV in bed, other times I want to stay up until midnight. Most homes I've worked in have insisted that all clients are in bed before the night shift comes on.

I want to be able to have a drink when I choose to have one, not just at set times.

The majority of homes I have worked in have been for those with dementia, and unless the dementia is advanced the client can still make simple choices.

A lot of the above issues are down to homes having the minimum number of staff on shift, and especially in the morning and evening all the staff are busy with getting clients up /putting them to bed.
Oh and one of my bugbears is that in all the homes the clients are restricted to one bath or shower a week, the only time this is not the case is where the family have,quite rightly, kicked up a fuss.

For myself, vegetarian food. I have seen people in at least ten care homes over the past ten years, and I have never seen any sign of vegetarian food being provided. I have also not seen much choice. It's either the main meat course or sandwiches. Little choice.

I agree with you about staffing, charliec. My mother in law has twice fallen out of chairs in the last two months, having been left on her own. The last time they gave a time scale of fifteen minutes between when someone last saw her and then found her on the floor. That time necessitated a scan in an emergency hospital.
There should always be someone on watch in every day room.

I would want friendly staff who treated the residents with respect and care,homely atmosphere, good food with a wide choice, clean surroundings and plenty of activities. I would want a reasonable ratio of trained staff who were astute medically.

I think cleanliness would be the top of my list. DH likes a bath or two a day so he would be miserable at having one a week. I would like to be able to look out of a window and see a lot going on,people living life not a car park for visitors. I would like the staff to be employed for their ability to like old people not because this was the only thing they could do. I would like to see well paid staff and I don't mean the managers or owners.

One bath a week !!!! No wonder so many care homes I visited smelt awful! How disgusting. I looked at care homes for a bit of respite when my mother lived with us.In the end we organised family help plus care assistants when I went away. The carers would give her a thorough shower three times a week with talc, perfume etc. she didn't want any more than that but it was enough to keep her fresh and clean. Cleanliness would definitely be my top of list. One care home I visited told me that when a resident left their room was thoroughly redecorated, new carpet, curtains etc before another resident moved in.

I have also seen both sides of the care home issue. I worked for most of my adult life in various homes as a Registered Mental Nurse. The last home I worked in before my retirement was inspected by CQC in June last year and was rated as requiring improvement. It had the same rating during my time there. That being said the care was fantastic and all the Residents well cared for. We always asked the name a new Resident was known by and made sure everyone knew.
When we were no longer able to care for my Dad, my sisters and I toured several homes looking for a suitable placement. We eventually chose one 11 miles from where Dad was born. The home was clean, but rather dated and in need of new carpets. The Residents however were all well cared for, clean, tidy and happy. They had a smoking room for those who needed it, at the end of one wing. It was run by a mother and daughter, both of whom had nursing qualifications in different fields. My Dad was very happy there, they catered for all his needs and when he needed a nursing bed it was provided for him. He was there a total of eight months before he died and we could not have chosen better.

When looking for a care home for my 98 year old Mum the one we chose felt just that. A home, where she would also feel that too. The one she went in was lovely and homely and the standards and staff exceptional. We could go on any time of the day or night for as long as we wanted. She died in the home and it was comforting to know how well she was cared for and how peaceful she was at the end.

I would always want to make visits before making a short list of possible homes.
So phoning them as a first point of call, just from this initial call I would rule out any with off hand blasé staff who answer the phone.
I would want to be ble to make unannounced visits, for a nosey. This may be inconvenient but I would be wary if visits HAD to be by appointment! This would make me suspicious they will hide things. I would look for happy clients, happy staff. Relaxed atmosphere and I would want to be able to befriend anyone for an informal chat. I would dismiss any place, no matter the score they had if staff tried to steer either me or the conversation. I would look for respect and confidentiality. I once spoke to a sad looking lady who was sat uncomfortably. No one really interfered BUT straight after I was told about her mental health and not to believe a word she said, and that she can be very unpredictable and was a nuisance. I felt so sorry for the lady and knew professionalism was not a priority here! I would want to know that clients could choose when to bath/shower not to be scheduled to fit in with staff wishes. I also would opt to have a trial stay, a respite week or fortnight being possible before signing myself or a relative in. I would also want to see a best and poorest room. I knew a lovely family who was shown a lovely pastel coloured roomy fresh bedroom to make a decision by. They went on a waiting list but when the lady got a space she had to accept the vacant room or go to the back of the list! The room she was given was dark,nasty carpet and curtains with little natural light and despite being promised a move ASAP, she never got it, despite some other client movement, She died hating her room which was so dreadfully sad.

Check that they have named staff responsible for their care,daily showers or baths should be given,no restrictions on visiting times,amount of activities and outings,also check what time they are woken in the morning and what provision is given,are they got up and left to sit for an hour before been attended to or is it immediate care given,also what time are they taken to bed and what care is given,. Check the turnover of staff are they longstaying or constant leaving,never visit the same times or days always vary visits and never tell the staff when you will next be in,

As you enter the care home for the first time, is there an overpowering room-freshener fragrance with undertones of urine? If they can't cope properly with incontinence then there will be many other things they won't be getting right.

Check when you visit whether the other occupants are happy and being entertained or occupied by games and activities, and they are not just sitting there asleep. Visit at food times so you can see the quality and quantity of food yourself and lastly always go with your gut rather than your head. If you have a niggling doubt pay heed.

The main things I would look for are how clean the place looked, how caring the staff were and how happy other residents appeared.

Cleanliness
Happy residents
plenty activities
friendly caring staff
Outside visitors eg hairdresser
Not too many rigid rules eg all in bed by a certain time

I look for happy clean residents, The little things like do they have tea, are they quiet. I have worked in enough care homes to know when things are not right. talk to staff about routines, look for eye contact, find out if they are paying good wages. all these things contribute to how the residents are treated.. It shouldn't do, but it does.