What is a Nursing Home and Who is it for?

Nursing homes, which are sometimes referred to as residential nursing homes or care homes with nursing, have qualified registered nurses and care assistants to provide nursing care in addition to residential care.

The purpose of a nursing home is to provide care and support for people with specific health conditions or different types of disabilities who struggle significantly with activities of daily life and need the added support. In a nursing home care facility, there is always at least one qualified and registered nurse on site, meaning residents have access to 24-hour medical care and clinically skilled nursing support and ongoing assessment.

Some nursing homes provide specialist care for service users newly discharged from hospital or with existing long term complex health conditions, these service users may require closer obeservation, supervision and regular assessment without the need for hospital escalation. The facility could specialise in caring for people with dementia, severe learning disabilities, substance abuse and more. For example, a person may have to go into a nursing home when they need intensive rehabilitative care following a stroke or are unable to swallow and require artificial feeding. Some nursing homes will have dual registered staff, qualified and registered in both adult and mental health nursing.

 

Nursing homes are for people with medical needs, such as:

  • Severe physical disabilities
  • Severe learning disabilities
  • Complex conditions
  • Sensory impairment
  • Dementia
  • Cancer
  • Terminal illnesses

Staff in nursing homes are trained to identify symptoms and changes to residents’ conditions. As they supervise and monitor the health of residents, they can quickly interpret and provide care as necessary.

In addition to care plans tailored according to residents’ individual medical needs, nursing homes arrange regular visits from GPs, physiotherapists, and other experts to ensure residents receive the care they need.

Nursing Homes compared to Residential Care Homes.

Both nursing homes and residential care homes provide care and support 24 hours a day, however, nursing homes can provide a higher level of care.

As outlined above, nursing homes have qualified nurses on-site around the clock to provide medical care and clinical needs whereas residential homes help people with personal care and support them to engage in physical activity.

Residential homes are mainly for older adults who are unable to cope at home and manage their personal hygiene, medication and toileting or struggle with mobility. There are many similarities between residential and nursing homes, however, as both settings will host regular social events for their residents and invite various entertainers.

Nurses are supported by qualified care assistants, trained to identify symptoms and changes to residents’ conditions and are commonly referred to as auxiliaries or HCA’s (Health Care assistants) Titles do vary but the job description and expectations remain consistent in line with the 6 C’s of care and NMC Code of Conduct.

Working in a Nursing home is considered by most to be a step up from Care work, not only because of the increased premiums commanded by Nursing Homes, reflecting their extended level of service provision, but for the increased skill set and training regime required to work under the direction, supervision, accountability and delegation of a Qualified Nurse.

Elwood offers a complete package of specialist courses designed to dovetail the needs of its client’s homes/services and offer a bespoke recruitment and training regime which mirrors their clients own common custom and practice. So, rest assured, if you work for Elwood, you will always be best informed, prepared and trained for the environment you are about to enter.

For Elwood clients, there is the opportunity to save money through the HMRC nursing concession. VAT is a complex and tricky affair which is quite often misinterpreted or misapplied, leaving many with legacy costs which come back to haunt them. Elwood guarantee no come backs from its application of VAT as we have many years of dealing with and managing this multi-layered tax.

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