Choosing a care home

Most people who need care can continue to live in their own homes with the right support.

However, a care home is a place where people can live in a homely setting and have their needs met by trained staff. If people have increased care needs for a limited period their needs may be met by a short stay (sometimes known as respite care) rather than on a permanent basis.

There are a wide range of care homes, some specialising in specific types of care such as dementia.

You can watch our film on residential care in South Lanarkshire.

Here's a film on what one of our care homes has to offer.

Care Homes are required to be registered and inspected by the Care Inspectorate and may be owned and run by:

• local authorities
• private individuals
• companies
• voluntary sector

Please visit the Care Inspectorate website for more information.

Moving into a care home is a very big step - so even if you can pay for this yourself, it's advisable to discuss your options with our social work team before you make any decisions. Please take a look at our care costs and advice for people moving to care homes or contact your local social work office or complete our Social work enquiry form.

Further information including information about the national care home contract rate, contractual routes, what to look for in a care home can be obtained from Care Information Scotland.