Choosing and Evaluating an Aged Care Home

Can there be a more difficult job than finding high care or even low care accommodation for a parent, spouse or a loved friend?

Agreed that very few people want to move to residential care. In the past, residential care conjured up very negative feelings. It is best to face the reality that they serve to provide the necessary care that is not available in any other setting.

Typically, the search for the appropriate aged care home can take place under pressure when a hospital or rehabilitation centre is threatening discharge or it's no longer possible for the loved one to live at home.

And if that is not enough, in most cases, finding the right residential care facility is a once-in-a-lifetime task, one you're taking on without the experience of having done it before.

Putting all of that behind us, there are a few rules of thumb that we suggest to help you:

Location

No single factor is more important to quality of care and quality of life of a resident than visits by family members. Care is often better if the facility knows someone's watching and cares. Visits can be the high point of the day or week for the resident. So, make it as easy as possible for family members and friends to visit.

Get references

Ask the facility to provide the names of family members of residents so you can ask them about the care provided in the facility and the staff's responsiveness when the resident or relatives raise concerns.

Check accreditation reports.

These reports are available online at facility accreditation website

Talk to the nursing home administrator or nursing staff

About how care plans are developed for residents and how they respond to concerns expressed by family members. Make sure you are comfortable with the response. It is better that you meet with and ask questions of the people responsible for care and not just the person marketing the facility.

Tour the facility

Try not to be impressed by a fancy lobby or depressed by an older, more rundown facility.

What matters most is the quality of care and the interactions between staff and residents.

It is a simple home-truth that "the walls are not going to jump out and care for you" so it is extremely important to assess the care staff.

See what you pick up about how well residents are attended to and whether they are treated with respect. Also, investigate the quality of the food service. Eating is both a necessity and a pleasure that continues even when we're unable to enjoy much else.

For more pointers on evaluating residential care facilities, see our Placement Checklist.

How do families choose between aged care homes.

Most families begin the process of finding the right aged care home after they have the copy of the aged care assessment from the ACAT. There is only a single page in the "5 Steps to Entry into Residential Care". The selection of the aged care home is important and will have a major impact upon your relative and upon the families peace of mind.

Final word of warning - Stories from well meaning friends and neighbours.

Be wary of stories from friends and neighbours who have good intentions, but may not really fully understand the current status of the aged care home.

Alternatively, you could contact us and save considerable time and stress in the search for the appropriate residential care for your loved one.