Mr. M’s father had recently died and his 88 year old mother was still living in the family home.  He had organised live-in care for his mother who had become physically frail and was beginning to find it hard to manage.  However, Mrs. M was very independent and found it hard to adjust to having carers living in her home.  Her family all lived some distance away and were becoming concerned. They felt she was very unhappy with the situation and thought residential care might be a better option.

Mrs. M was open to the idea of living in a care home, but wasn’t sure whether she wanted to leave her home permanently. While the family had a clear idea of what type of care home they thought their mother would like, they all worked long hours and felt they didn’t have the time or expertise to find a quality care home for their mother.

Having agreed with their mother that Hampshire or West Sussex were the best areas to look in, they engaged Clarity Care Consulting to produce a shortlist of care homes which would meet their mother’s needs and wants.

As a first step, we met Mrs. M to talk through all the available options and how she felt about residential care.  We also talked about the atmosphere and facilities she would want in a care home.  Following our discussions, Mrs. M and her family agreed that a short stay in a home would give her some time to rest and recuperate and think a little bit more about what she would like in the long term without committing herself.

We then researched care homes within her preferred area and examined all the relevant Care Quality Commission reports, producing a shortlist of seven possible homes.

We visited these homes, using a checklist tailor-made for Mrs. M.  We then narrowed the list down to three final care homes.  These were presented in a comprehensive report, which also contained copies of the checklists and relevant brochures/reports. 

The family visited one of the homes they thought would suit their mum best and a period of respite care was arranged.  The initial stay was a success and Mrs. M decided to move into the care home permanently.