About care homes

Some care homes are owned by private and voluntary agencies, and some are owned by the Council. The term ‘care home’ covers both nursing homes and residential homes.  Care homes have to meet the national standards, set by the Care Commission. Care homes can offer you accommodation, support and care, and some also offer nursing care. The Care Commission inspects care homes.  Every care home should be able to provide you with copies of its inspection reports.

Some care homes are already staffed 24 hours a day by nursing staff.  Others do not employ nursing staff. Your community care worker will help you decide which home is the most appropriate for you.

East Lothian Council tries to help people to live in their own homes for as long as they want to. We do this by providing a range of packages of care, equipment and adaptation. However, if you have had a community care assessment and find that these services no longer meet your needs, you may want to consider a care home.

Our assessment takes account of your abilities and needs. We listen to what you tell us and we ask for information from your carers, community care workers and health professionals.

Wherever possible, your community care worker will consult with you and your carers to give you a first, second and third choice.

When will the Council consider arranging a care-home place for you?

We can arrange a care-home place for you if you:

• are living alone and we cannot supply the support you need to remain at home, or
• are living with a carer who can no longer take care of you, even with support from us, or
• are unable to manage on your own, even with support from the Community Care team, or
• are vulnerable because of disability or frailty, or
• need round-the-clock help with practical and/or personal tasks or nursing care.

What you should know

• If you need funding to help to pay for care-home care, your community care worker will apply for funding on your behalf to the Placement Panel. 
• The Placement Panel allocates places in care homes. The Panel will work out what level of priority you have.  You may still be living at home, or be in hospital or in a residential care home. The Panel take into account what kinds of risk you (and your carer) face by continuing to stay where you are, and award you priority accordingly.
• We will do our best to get you into your first-choice care home but, if there are no places there, we may have to consider your second and third choices.

About charges

We have to impose charges for care-home care in line with Scottish Executive guidance. 

• If your capital assets are under £18,500, we will carry out a financial assessment to work out how much you will have to contribute towards the weekly charge for the care home.  If you are 65 or over, you will be eligible for free personal care (£145 a week) and you may also be eligible for free nursing care (£65 a week).  We will take this into account when working out what you have to pay. 
• If you have no capital assets, you will pay all your benefit and pension income towards the weekly charge, and we will pay the rest.  You will receive a weekly personal allowance of £16.80 a week.
• If your capital assets are over £18,500, you will pay the full weekly charge, less the £145 per week for free personal care, or £210 per week for free personal care and free nursing care (if you are 65 or over).

For more information, please see our leaflets  Free Personal Care, or ask your local social work office for information on charging.

Or contact us at communitycare@eastlothian.gov.uk