Nursing Homes in St. Ives

The move to a nursing home in St. Ives is usually prompted by clinical need rather than preference, at the point where the support somebody requires has outgrown what a residential home is registered to provide. Two providers currently match this search, and both are registered nursing homes, which means a qualified nurse is on the premises at all times. Each of the two holds a Good rating from the Care Quality Commission, so the decision between them will turn on the detail inside their inspection reports rather than on the headline grade. Cambridgeshire County Council is the body responsible for carrying out a care needs assessment and for deciding whether somebody qualifies for funded support, while nursing care also raises the separate question of continuing healthcare funding through the health service. With only two homes on this list, there is no excuse for skimming, so read both profiles closely and work through each Care Quality Commission inspection report in full before approaching either one.

What nursing care in St. Ives involves and what to look for

A nursing home must keep a qualified nurse on the premises at all times, and that requirement is what separates it from residential care. It allows the home to manage needs such as complex wound care, feeding tubes, unstable long term conditions and end of life care without moving somebody on when their health changes.

How the two homes stand

Trewartha Residential and Nursing Home and Frances Bolitho Care Home both hold a Good rating from the Care Quality Commission. With matching grades, the useful detail sits in the reports themselves, each of which summarises five separate judgements about whether a home is safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led. Both reports can be opened from the profiles on this page.

What to check in person

Ask how many registered nurses are on duty by day and by night, and whether any shifts rely on agency cover. Ask how the home works with district nurses and the person's own doctor, and what it does when somebody deteriorates overnight.

Getting an assessment and sorting out funding

The care needs assessment

A care needs assessment is free and open to anybody who appears to need care and support, whatever their savings. It is arranged through the Cambridgeshire County Council social care team, the body responsible for assessments and funded support, and a financial assessment should be requested at the same time.

Who pays

Above the national capital threshold a placement is funded privately, and below it the council contributes on a means tested basis. Nursing care brings a further route, because continuing healthcare funding is decided by the health service rather than the council and can cover the whole placement where someone qualifies. Weekly fees differ between the two homes according to the nursing involved and the room, so confirm current fees and availability through each profile here.

Nursing Homes near St. Ives

• Chippenham
• Melksham
• Bath