Share your adult social care experiences with CQC - chance to win £300! NOW CLOSED!

[EmmaMumsnet]

We are working with CQC (Care Quality Commission), who through a current campaign #CareAware would like to make the public more aware of their inspection reports and ratings which can help people make informed decisions if you are choosing home care or a care home. With this aim in mind, they would like to hear your experiences of adult social care.

Here’s what CQC have to say: "Choosing care can be a real worry for people, their families and carers, wondering who or where to turn to – but CQC can help. The public needs to know about the quality of care services available and they also need to be reassured that if there are any problems, these are being identified and tackled.

That is why we publish regular inspection reports with quality ratings on more than 20,000 individual care services registered with CQC. This means that people have access to clear, independent and trusted information to help them make the right decisions for them or their loved one.

People can be confident that we find most care services in England are providing good, safe care. For those that need to do better, or are not getting any better, we take appropriate action to ensure providers either improve or stop providing care altogether.’"

Perhaps you want to share your experience of choosing a care home for yourself or a loved one – and want to share your tips with others in that position? Maybe you chose home care for yourself or for a friend, partner or relative? Or perhaps you want to tell us about your plans and conversations you are having with your family so that you or they do not have to make a rushed decision.

Whatever your experiences are, share them on the thread below and everyone who comments will be entered into a prize draw, where one lucky winner will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

The CQC is responsible for inspecting all hospitals, including private hospitals, GP practice, dentists, care homes, residential home and care provided in peoples own home in England.

Each inspection answers five key questions: Is the service safe? Is it effective? Are the staff caring and responsive to people’s needs and is the service well led?

What a minefield this is. My family were in this position some years ago and the whole experience was immensely stressful, emotional and upsetting - Certainly not positive in any way. We did not go down this route eventually...but I certainly feel that a "report" alone would not be sufficient to allay any concerns and fears that I may have.

I had a placement in a nursing home when I was doing my nursing training but recently my grandma has also been in a nursing home when she was too poorly to look after herself at home. On both occasions my experiences have been positive. The care given (all though short staffed with a large number of residents to care for)staff did their very best with the facilities they had. My grandma passed away peacefully.

It upset me to think that some residents were self funding the costs of the home weekly which was a HUGE some of money and when there funds out they could be relocated to a different home completely ☹️.

I find the staff at social care individually very good but communication between services can be very poor and it can take such a long time to get funding assessments etc done.

Not a care home but an alcohol detox unit.

I researched for my mum and looked at CQC report and other feedback online. We had a very positive experience. Lovely staff, aftercare and a really positive medication programme. If I had had any concerns I would have gone to CQC.

Not a hospital but. Charity. Turning point, who gave the motto Turning lives around which in my mums experience is very true. 16 months sober!

My grandmother had to go into a home a year ago, she was fiercely independent and the move wasn't smooth as she really didn't want to go, but we didn't have a choice as our home wasn't suitable for her and her mobility had all but gone. The care home was lovely and the staff were attentive, I just with that the rules would be changed so that all homes are required to have more staff. We visited many homes before deciding on the one for my grandmother and they were all crazy busy with staff being pulled in a thousand different directions, but the homes all met the legal rules on how many staff they need as a minimum.

I helped in the choice of the nursing home for my FIL. I used the information from CQC, but again like others I feel that things are presented for inspections rather than a real snapshot in time.
My MIL has just spent some time in one, all three that we've been involved with (2 for FIL, and 1 for MIL) have had similar information about them, but in reality the level of care and stimulation available across them has varied hugely. The one my MIL in whilst she recovered was brilliant for activities, visitors, food, staff.
I also know of a case (not at any of the homes we've been involved with) a relative complained about the care their grandfather was receiving and they wanted to take it further - I assume to the CQC, they were told if they did their GF's place would become untenable.

I think it's a scary prospect for a lot of people to pick a home for someone they care for and love and I think the CQC gives an insight, however I don't think anything can replace going to visit, see what's happening daily, see the rooms and generally get the feeling for the place. But it does give an indication, especially as to whether to even visit or not.

I work in a setting inspected by the CQC- as well as the announced, full site inspections every so often, we have regular unannounced visits, which is a very good thing.

My granddad has just died in care home, and my grandma is poorly but really wants to stay at home. I feel sad for them, they worked very hard all their lives and yet it has cost so much for them to be cared for.

They don't live near me, and I don't feel secure that a care home will take care of their needs adequately. They want their own independence and don't want to be a burden on their family but I wish I could care for my elderly relatives myself.
My own dad is a long way off needing a care home, I hope..and I hope I will be able to look after him myself.

I dread what the provisions will be like for me ad my partner, I don't think we will have enough money to pay for adequate care so I hope we have family that will help. Very scary really :(

My Grandad's care home was awful - residents bed swapping, they didn't clean him up properly when he had "accidents" and given that he had dementia and alzheimers were incredibly harsh when some of his behaviours were less than desirable. As a care home that specialised in this sort of care, I would have hoped that they would have been more understanding. The final straw came when the decision was taken by family not to buy him tobacco any more because he "forgot" he smoked and then the staff took to bribing him with cigarettes to make him more compliant.

It has to be the choice of the person. I have known situations where a relative has convinced themselves (and others) that their mum is confused and can no longer manage when it would actually have been better for them to take time to stay with the person, giving the extra help and confidence that they needed, say on a monthly basis. Because it can come down to a choice of being physically cared for but mentally unhappy (in a care home) or having to struggle to manage at home, perhaps relying on ready meals and dependant on carers, but being happy to remain in the home they love. With planning and thought, care in the community can work well; that would be my choice.

CQC are used for Respite care also. I dont find you can rely on cqc reports alone. They were certainly not particularly helpful when concerns were flagged up to CQC. I dont feel you can rely on these organisations regardless of what their intentions are.

My mother was in two care homes and due to bad care died. I have worked in a few care homes and to be honest the quality of care offered is shocking. The CQC should not announce when they are visiting and they would probably get a truer idea of what happens in these homes. Having said that if the homes were run properly and decent staff were employed as carers then it would make a big difference. Most of the staff do care work because it's a job not because they actually care about the people they look after. In my opinion its getting worse not better, it doesn't matter how many forms and how much paperwork the carers do to prove they can do the job, if they don't have the capacity to care then as far as I'm concerned they should not do this type of work. The reason I don't do care work anymore is because I care about the people and cannot work with the people who are only there for the wage.

Helping elderly relatives realise that they need more support has been really difficult. My sons grandma was admitted to hospital via a ambulance after a period of medical tests could not find the course of the problem. By this time she was very weak and haven't been mobile for several weeks.

The hospital had put her in the discharge ward pending the results of some tests. She died in the discharge ward alone in the early hours of the morning. This was on a weekday following a weekend of non action as the consultant / doctor was not around

I was the only person advocating that she went back to a Community Hospital for rehabilitation and a social work assessment to see if she could manage at home or whether a care home would be more appropriate. As a non family member I was not listened to by nursing staff. Her family members thought I was interfering. They were too busy thinking about their needs and how she was the matriarch of the family rather than notice in that she needed some social care.

The hospital did not involve the social worker and have they done something I believe she would have died in a much more dignified way either in a community hospital or at home with the appropriate care.

MilkyCoffeeAndSkinnySyrup
I assume you reported your concerns?

I think random spot checks are required. Places shouldn't be given notice that an inspection is taking place.

I was lucky that through my work I had the opportunity to speak to an eminent Gerontologist at a conference. He recommended good care home companies to me and this helped hugely when choosing a Care home for my close family member. I also looked online at CQC reports. When visiting the potential care homes I noted the attitudes of staff members, the cleanliness, and general 'vibe' of the places.

It's a joy being an adult and being disabled, I also found out recently it's also a joy being elderly and wanting to die at home, not in a hospital bed which wasn't granted.

My experience with adult social care was I had a woman who was a social care administrator, so not even a SW, they looked for every possible reason not to award any care.

My more recent experience, is just shocking, a relative was in hospital for 2 months, well actually over a month was spent in a facility that wasn't really a hospital. Stuff got delivered to the relatives house, it was never used, I wonder how frequently it happens. It was delivered a month before they died. The wait was for social care packages and how much care the person needed. I even mentioned direct payments to see if it would speed up the process. The one time the next of kin were both free coincided with a day the SW had off work. Delaying things further. The last I heard about 3 weeks before said relative died was that the Ward Manager was going to do everything possible to get the person home. The person didn't get home and were stationed a good 30 minute drive from anyone, so there last days were lonely and most awfully under medicated and very distressed which was awful to see. We're talking writhing, moaning, unable to speak. Being with a next of kin who didn't want to interfere I didnt feel like I could query that they be medicated as it was obvious they were going to die. They did infact 4 days later.

So no positive experiences, just bad.

I have seen some wonderful carers, who can help at home. I would rather stay at home then go into a care home...

Oops posted before editing. Please ignore typos!

When looking for a care home for my late father I found it so stressful. He has clear medical needs and yet the NHS and social workers kept fighting between each other about who was to fund it. The whole process is difficult; stressful and adult social care services massively overstretched and unable to be of any productive help. They looked for every reason as to not provide care. Being in full time work I found it so difficult to be able to liaise between all the agencies and some of the private care homes were estate agent like in their persistence and constant phone calls to get us to “sign up”

My father died during this whole process and to be honest if he didn’t have family to advocate for him I’m not sure he would have coped. It’s such a shame that the whole sector is so underfunded and so many elderly people live their last days in such uncertainty.

My parents are getting more frail and this is something we'll need to consider soon. I'd love for them to stay at home as long as possible. I am finding everyone's comments very useful.

My elderly parents were briefly in respite care in a home labelled 'Good' by the CQC but I would not have described it as that. As self-funders, it cost 8 grand a month for them to be there - for 2K a week, you think they'd be staying in the Ritz and eating caviar, not given nothing to do all day every day and fed tinned soup.

We then got a wonderful live-in full-time carer who actually cares (and costs £400 a week, so a fifth of the previous costs). Even with a part-time carer to cover her days off and holidays, it is still a fraction of the cost of a care home and so much nicer - they got 1-1 care with someone with the time to care. My df passed away but the same lovely carer is still looking after my dm.

Nothing would make me want to put anyone I loved in a home. That said, my aunt, who has severe dementia, is in a good care home, with high quality care, as she really did need full-time care because of the extent of her medical needs. What is shocking is that that costs thousands a month and we cannot get the NHS and social services to assess her care needs, even though she clearly hits 'severe' on most of the categories for continuing care. They arranged a visit once with two days' notice, which we couldn't get leave from work at that notice to attend, 'assessed' her in our absence and refuse to return 18 months later, even though she gets worse every day.

It is just wrong that if you have any savings at all,the NHS and local authorities steal your money and refuse to assess your medical needs as they are required to do by law. It is state-sanctioned stealing from those with dementia.

By the way, I think PinkBuffalo should get the voucher offered on here - her experiences sound dreadful.

Oh incorrigibly aren't you sweet
I won't lie, 2018 has been the shittiest year! I havent been to bed since Friday night. Had a call from the hospital in my PJs last night to go up. So had to leave mum in bed & spent the night stroking dads head. He is still with us (amazingly) but of course as soon as I get home in the morning can't go to bed! Have to get mum up, get the nurse out, clear the commode etc. honestly, I feel about 100 right now. I'm only 32!
Thank you for thinking of me
(I had lots of lovely people on my thread about dad in life limiting illness section too. They really pulled me through on a particularly bad night)