What is the process of moving in to a care home?

To find the right home, try using our care home checklist and ‘how to choose between care homes’ tool.

This is an assessment conducted by the manager, nurse or other clinical lead in the home. They can visit you in your home or you can come to the care home  (or they can visit in hospital or another care home).

The assessment includes gathering information about your medical history and medications, your personal history, lifestyle and hobbies.

The purpose of a pre-admission assessment if to get to know more about you, so the home can ensure they can give you the best possible care, and that they have the resources to be able to care for your needs (for example, if you need nursing care and they are registered as a residential care home, they may not be able to care for your personal needs). Additionally, it means that once you have moved in to the home, the staff already know a little about you, your likes and your dislikes.

At this point, if the person doing the assessment believes that the home will be unable to provide the care you need, they may recommend other homes that be more suitable. If the assessment is successful, the person will let you know and will ask the manager to contact you to organise moving in.

Before moving in to the home, you or a supporter will need to sign a contract from the home. A sample care home contract can be found here.

Along with the contract, you may be sent consent forms for various types of consent. This can include consent to viewing medical records, consent to care and treatment and consent to taking and using photographs.

Having signed a contract and organised a moving date, you will need to make your first payment. In most homes this payment will be made up of:

• The first four weeks of fees (or if you are in the home for respite stay, the fee for however long you will be at the home)
• A deposit refundable at the end of your stay
• An administrative charge

How you pay depends on the home. At Chanctonbury Healthcare you can pay by credit/debit card, BACs payment or cheque. Then future payments can also be made by direct debit.

On the day you move in, you will be greeted by a member of staff who will help you settle in on your first day. Most homes will be happy for you to move in at any time, but make sure you have agreed a time before you get there.

Within the first week of you staying in the home, various members of staff will visit you to find out more about you. For example, the chef will visit to find out your food likes and dislikes, the activities coordinator will find out what hobbies you have and what activities you would like to partake in.