House Clearance Help & Advice: The different types of nursing homes

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There are three basic types of nursing home in which your elderly parent can go into depending on the amount of care they need. The three basic types are skilled nursing care, intermediate nursing care and custodial care. Here we take a closer look at the three and this can give you an idea which would be the best type for your elderly parent.

All nursing homes are designed as a place where your elderly parent can live out the rest of their lives as comfortably as possible while receiving the best of care possible. Some are specifically aimed at those people who need constant care and attention around the clock and others designed for those who need a specific type of looking after. Certain nursing homes will take care of those who need care after coming out of hospital while others rely on specific therapy that the nursing home can provide.

Before choosing which type of nursing home your loved one will go into they will have a means test, this means that they will be tested medically and mentally to determine the amount of care that they will need and then the appropriate type of home for their needs can be chosen.

Skilled nursing care – this type of home will have professionals such as nursing staff and physiotherapists. These are the type of homes which people recovering from specific illnesses or operations may attend for a limited amount of time. Usually our loved ones Doctor will outline the treatment needed and the physiotherapy which your parent should receive in order for them to recover to the best of their ability. Once a recovery has been made then the elderly parent may return home or be considered a candidate for a different type of nursing home.

Intermediate nursing care – this type of nursing home will take those who require specific care but not 24 hour nursing care, care such as this is normally at the request of the persons Doctor and will be supervised by registered nurses. This type of care is generally over the long term and will include such things as your loved one needing help when bathing, eating and performing basic daily tasks.

Custodial care – this type of care gives help to the elderly who need help with things associated with daily living, this includes such things as dressing, taking care of personal hygiene, eating, bathing and other needs. This type of care is usually given to those without any medical skills who are supervised by a carer who has medical skills. It is also usually classed as care over the long term.

In addition to this there are private nursing homes which specialise in meeting certain requirements such as those with certain illnesses. This can mean treatments for such as Alzheimer’s disease or rehabilitation therapies.

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