There are several different types of care home to consider, along with alternatives to care homes. Look into all the options, seek advice, and make the right decision for you.
What types of care home are available?
While all care homes offer accommodation and personal care, there are specialist types of care homes that offer additional services for residents with greater needs.
Care homes can be run by private companies, local councils or charitable organisations.
Type of care home | What they offer |
| Care homes | These offer staff who help with personal care, such as washing, dressing, taking medication and going to the toilet. They may also offer social activities such as day trips or outings. |
| Care homes with nursing | These are also referred to as ‘nursing homes’. These offer staff who offer personal care as well as 24-hour assistance from qualified nurses. |
| Care homes with dementia care | These are designed to make people with dementia feel comfortable and safe. They often have qualified nurses with dementia training. |
| Dual-registered care homes | These accept residents who need both personal care and nursing care. This means that if someone moves in only requiring help with personal care, but their needs increase over time, they won’t have to move to a different home. |
Are there alternatives to care homes?
Someone may have suggested that you need a care home – perhaps because you’ve had an accident or you’re starting to need more help on a day-to-day basis. But this doesn’t mean that it’s the right decision for you. You might find that a different option suits you better. Remember – it’s your decision so you should look into all the options and ask for help and advice if you need it.
Some of the other options may be:
- adapting your home to make life easier
- getting some support at home, known as ‘home care’, to help you with things that are becoming difficult
- moving into sheltered housing or extra-care housing, where you can live independently but with extra support.
Search for a range of housing options using the Elderly Accommodation Counsel (ECA) directory