What is the process for determining that a nursing home v. residential home required,?

nhs continuing care need to assess, you need to stress lack of capacity and unable to manage BETWEEN care visits, they are highly unlikely to qualify for funding unless it’s a nursing placement because the funding is for medical not social care

Do you think they have capacity?

Can they understand information about why being at home isn't safe?
Can they retain that information?
Can they weigh that information up?

If the answer is no to any of these questions the person doesn't have capacity and you should point this out to the assessor with concrete examples.

This can be useful if part of the stumbling block is the perception that the person involved has capacity and is saying they want to stay at home.

If person is self funding and you believe they don't have capacity and you have PoA you can just crack on and organise it. If no PoA or they do have capacity I can't really help.

Sorry OP - Are they at home? Do they already have a care package? or currently in hospital? It can be slightly different routes depending on your starting point

When it was decided that my DM needed more help than she could get at home she was assessed by a social worker and assessed as needing residential, not nursing care - her needs were "social" (washing, dressing, feeding, toileting) rather than "medical" (complex nursing needs) and she was offered a place in two different homes. We turned down the first because we knew several people who had worked there and found it a really unpleasant atmosphere. The second was a residential and nursing home with a place in the residential wing. It wasn't convenient for visiting but it was a lovely place with a loving and caring atmosphere so we agreed for her to go there. Even when she deteriorated she didn't need to move to the nursing wing, she just received extra care where she was.

This is in no way meant to sound harsh just realistic: If you are at this stage in your questioning then there is almost no chance of funding. My experience is to qualify at all you (the person) is/are at the point of being way way beyond needing help and as the person organising it you keep fighting for it but have lost the will. apply ad request it to get used to how it works. In reality book some private at home help for now.

I assume you'll be getting public funding so my answers are based on that.

There aren't different assessments. The social worker will carry out an assessment and decide whether the client needs to be in residential or nursing care.
When you know what type of home you need you can visit 2 or 3 local ones and choose one. A senior staff member at the home will then carry out their own assessment to make sure that they can meet the clients need and will then either agree to take them or say that they can't meet their needs.

And thats basically it!