Guides
Paying for a care home, explained properly
Long answers to the questions families ask us most. Written in plain English, with the figures for England and where every one came from.
Who pays for care home fees, and when the council helps
The means test in plain English: the savings limits, what counts, what happens to your house, and what you keep each week.
8 minute read
Who pays, what the council and the NHS cover, and how the sums work.
Who pays for care home fees, and when the council helps
The means test in plain English: the savings limits, what counts, what happens to your house, and what you keep each week.
8 minute read
NHS funded nursing care: what it is and who gets it
A flat weekly payment from the NHS towards the nursing part of a nursing home fee. Here is how it is decided, how much it is, and where the money goes.
6 minute read
NHS Continuing Healthcare: when the NHS pays the whole fee
For people whose needs are mainly about health rather than daily living, the NHS can pay for all of their care. The test is strict. This is how it works.
7 minute read
How to read a CQC report, what to ask on a visit, and what the fee buys.
What a care home fee includes, and what costs extra
The weekly fee covers more than you might think and less than you might hope. A guide to the fee, the extras and the yearly rise.
6 minute read
CQC ratings explained: how to read an inspection report
Outstanding, Good, Requires improvement, Inadequate. What the inspectors look at, what the rating does not tell you, and how to read the report behind it.
6 minute read
Choosing a care home: what to look for and ask on a visit
You learn more in an hour on the premises than in a week online. Here is what to notice, who to talk to and the questions that get straight answers.
7 minute read
Residential, nursing, dementia and respite care, and the alternative of care at home.
Care home or live-in care? The honest comparison
Both cost about the same for one person. For a couple the gap is large. What each gives you, what each costs, and how to decide.
7 minute read
Residential, nursing, dementia or respite: the types of care home
The names on the sign mean specific things to the regulator. Knowing the difference stops you paying for care you do not need, or moving twice.
6 minute read