Choosing a care home: the questions that make a visit useful

Write down what the person needs help with, what they want to continue doing and what would make the move difficult. Include the ordinary details: a preferred bedtime, help using a hearing aid, familiar food or time alone. A shortlist becomes more useful when each home is answering questions about the same person.

Ask the council for a free care needs assessment, even if the person expects to fund their own care. That assessment helps establish the support needed. A home's own assessment then checks whether it can provide that care. The NHS explains the council assessment.

If the decision about moving is still open, read care home or care at home. If a move follows a hospital stay, ask the discharge team whether the proposed placement is temporary or permanent, who is funding it and when it will be reviewed. Record these answers separately from the home's sales information.

A residential care home provides accommodation and personal care. A nursing home also has qualified nurses on duty to provide nursing care. Some homes offer both. Ask which service is being proposed for this person and whether the particular room and team can support their assessed needs. The NHS explains the types of care home.

A label such as dementia care should lead to a detailed conversation. Describe the help needed with communication, personal care, eating, sleep or distress. Ask how staff would respond, what support they obtain from other professionals and what changes might mean the home could no longer meet the person's needs.

A confident explanation of limits is useful. You want to know which needs the team can meet now, which require further assessment and which are outside the service. Ask for those limits before choosing a room or discussing a move date.

Use the CQC page for the exact home, rather than a rating for its parent group. Read the findings connected to the person's needs and note the dates. Check whether the record is current and read relevant history. Our guide to what CQC ratings mean explains how to interpret the evidence and an absence of a rating.

Then test the practical location. Consider the journey for people the resident wants to see, including public transport and less convenient visiting times. Ask whether the person can continue meaningful local connections, such as a familiar place of worship or community activity, and who would help make that happen.

Make a short list of essential requirements before arranging visits. For example, a home must be able to meet the assessed needs, accommodate the person's communication needs and explain a sustainable funding arrangement. A preference for a particular room view can then be considered alongside those essentials.

Arrange a visit when the person can take part as comfortably as possible. Ask for any adjustments that would help, such as a quieter conversation, an accessible route or information in a suitable format. Where a repeat visit would help, agree a different time with the home while respecting residents' privacy and the home's visiting arrangements.

Notice whether staff speak directly to the person and give them time to answer. Ask how someone chooses when to get up, where to eat and whether to join activities. A busy calendar does not tell you whether an individual can pursue a quiet hobby or decline a group session without being overlooked.

Use observations as prompts for respectful questions. Someone resting in a lounge may simply want a rest. Ask how staff learn each resident's preferences and how they support people who spend time in their rooms. Do not turn one person's behaviour into a verdict on the home.

CQC's guide to a good care home describes dignity, individual choice, privacy and involvement in care. Ask how those expectations would work in the person's ordinary day.

Describe the actual situations that need support. If someone requires help from two people to move, ask how that is planned at bedtime and overnight. If they use a call bell, ask how staff know help is needed and what happens if the person cannot use it. If they need nursing care, ask how nursing cover operates across the full week.

Staff numbers are only the beginning of the conversation. Ask how staffing changes with residents' needs, what happens when someone is absent and who is in charge outside office hours. Ask how unfamiliar or temporary staff learn essential information before providing care.

Continuity matters to the questions you ask. Who is likely to support the person regularly? How does the home share preferences between shifts? Who notices when someone is eating less, becoming withdrawn or finding personal care difficult? Ask for the explanation of the process, with no request to see another resident's records.

For medicines and health appointments, establish responsibilities. Ask who orders and checks medicines, how concerns reach the appropriate clinician and how the person is supported to attend appointments. Record any associated charge for staff accompaniment in your fee comparison.

Use the same questions at every home. Write down the answer, any evidence offered and what remains unresolved. Avoid awarding a high score just because the building is attractive or a conversation felt reassuring.

After the visit, ask the person what mattered to them before other family members compare impressions. Record any disagreement. It may reveal an unanswered question rather than a decision that somebody needs to win.

Ask for a quotation following the home's assessment, for the actual room and care proposed. Check the weekly fee, deposit or advance payment, included services and optional extras. Ask about appointments, transport, hairdressing, outings and additional individual support where relevant. Do not assume an attractive advertised starting price applies to this placement.

The CMA's care home consumer guidance says important information should be provided early, and the final price confirmed after assessment and service choices.

If the council or NHS is involved, ask all parties to confirm the payment arrangement. If there is a nursing contribution, establish how it appears in the price. If a council top up is proposed, understand who would pay it and how it could change. Our paying for care in England guide explains the different routes.

Compare affordability beyond the move itself. Ask when the next general fee review occurs and whether a change in care needs could trigger a separate increase. Keep every quote dated so you know which version you are comparing.

Ask for the contract early enough to read it without the pressure of a move happening that day. Identify the provider, the person receiving care and the role of anyone signing. Ask whether a signature merely records representation or creates a personal guarantee or other payment obligation.

Check how fees can change, how much notice applies, what happens during hospital absence and how the agreement ends. Ask about any trial period, the circumstances in which the home could ask someone to leave, and fees after a resident's death. Request clarification in writing where wording is unclear.

CMA guidance says fee change terms should explain the circumstances and calculation, and identifies unlimited fee increase powers as potentially unfair. Read the CMA guidance on contracts and changes (PDF). Seek individual advice if a substantial obligation is unclear. A reassuring verbal answer should be reflected in the written agreement.

Before arrival, agree who will receive the person, what information and medicines need to accompany them and who will confirm that essential equipment is ready. Ask what can be brought from home and label belongings in the way the home requests. Choose familiar items with the person rather than making the room arrangement entirely on their behalf.

Prepare a short account of preferences alongside the care information: the name the person uses, communication support, familiar routines, important relationships and what helps them feel settled. Agree who can receive updates, respecting the person's wishes and the relevant arrangements for sharing information.

Set an early review date with the home. Discuss meals, sleep, personal care, relationships with staff and whether the person feels listened to. Ask who will act on changes and when you will review them again. Raise a concern when it happens instead of saving it for the review.

When you are ready, search care homes by postcode district. Use your questions to check suitability and availability with each home, then compare the written offers.