If you want to organise and pay for your care in a residential or nursing home then you should contact one of the homes listed in our Care Homes directory. There’s guidance on how to use the search if you’re unsure.
If you’d like our help to arrange your care, or if you need help paying for care in a home, please visit the First Point at Howden House in the city centre, or contact our Adults Access Team.
Choosing a Home
The person who carries out the assessment (called the assessor) will talk to you about whether your needs will be best met in a residential care home or nursing home. We have our own criteria to follow when we decide.
In most cases it will be clear which type of home is most suitable. We will only pay for a place in a nursing home if our assessment shows that your needs couldn’t be met in a residential care home.
Here’s a selection of questions to ask at the home to help you decide.
Level of Care
Residential homes offer the same care and help that you could get if a relative or friend looked after you. Staff in a care home can help you with washing and dressing, at meal times and help going to the toilet.
In some homes staff can help you to gain skills that help you to be independent. A district nurse makes regular visits to care homes.
Nursing homes offer 24 hour nursing care by trained nursing staff. The person in charge of the care home must be a qualified doctor or nurse, and there will always be nursing staff on duty to care for you.
Inspections
All Sheffield homes must meet minimum standards of good service. Regular inspections are carried out by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
To find out the rating for any home and see a copy of the inspection report:
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Visit the Care Quality Commission,
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Email enquiries@cqc.org.uk
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Telephone 03000 61 61 61
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Write to CQC National Correspondence, City Gate, Gallowgate, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 9PA
Visits and Trial Periods
Only you can decide which home you’ll like, so you should visit the home – perhaps with your family or friends. All homeowners prefer people to visit before they decide – and you can visit more than one home before making your choice. You can use our list of questions to ask the home, which may help you make a decision.
There’s a trial period of up to four weeks before you finally make up your mind.
You can check which homes in Sheffield have vacancies: Care Homes directory or contacting the Bed Bureau on (0114) 273 4807. They have up-to-date information on spaces in local homes and can be contacted Monday to Friday, 9am to 4.30pm. .
If the home is full you can choose to live in a similar home while you wait. When a place is available you can choose either to move or stay where you are.
Temporary Arrangements
If you’re not at risk we’ll try to give you help to stay in your own home until a vacancy occurs. Of course if you’re at risk or if your needs can only be met fully by living in a residential care home then we’ll not be able to meet them properly in your own home.
This is not normally possible to stay in hospital as someone else may be waiting for urgent treatment. If you no longer need to be in hospital we’ll offer you a place in another home or help to stay in your own home until a vacancy occurs.
Moving In
Once you have chosen your home, a member of staff from the home will visit you to chat about when and how you’ll be moving in. This is a good time to ask any final questions you have such as meal times, activities run in the home and so on.