Choosing a care home is one of the most important decisions for you or your loved one. As you consider Splendid Healthcare’s options: Derwent Lodge Care Home in Billingshurst, Upper Mead Care Home in Henfield, and Ullswater Cottage Care Centre in Pease Pottage (specialist neurological care), this guide highlights the top areas to explore. These questions are designed to help you evaluate the quality and the unique offerings of each home, ensuring you find the perfect fit.
Understanding Their Approach to Care
What types of care do each of your homes specialise in?
Care homes offer a variety of services to local residents, but some homes offer specialist services and support, which is why it’s important to discover the care services a home offers.
Derwent Lodge and Upper Mead combine a family atmosphere with a full complement of services, including dementia, palliative, residential, nursing, convalescent and respite care. Ullswater Cottage, on the other hand, provides 24/7 specialist nursing care for neurological conditions like acquired brain injury, MS, cerebral palsy, and motor neurone disease.
How do you create and update personalised care plans?
We recommend that you explore how a care home creates and updates personal care plans. At Splendid, we pride ourselves on providing our residents with tailored care plans which are expertly crafted to meet their unique needs. As health conditions can alter, we frequently review care plans, ensuring that the needs of our residents are being consistently met.
We are more than happy to demonstrate this and welcome family involvement. We strongly believe that this is an essential question that you should ask a potential care provider.
What happens if care needs change over time
As noted above, by regularly reviewing the needs of our residents alongside their tailored care plans, we are more than prepared if care needs were to drastically alter. As well as this, we have a fleet of experienced experts across our range of care services.
It is essential to understand the long-term care services that the care homes listed in your local search provide.
Staff Quality, Availability, and Continuity
What is the staff‑to‑resident ratio across different shifts, including nights and weekends?
We know that it’s excellent news when a reputable CQC-registered care home near you has a spare bed, but if a care home in understaffed, then your loved one might not receive the attentive care they need.
At Splendid Healthcare, we have a higher ratio of staff to residents at all times, as we are committed to providing our residents with the best care, 24 hours a day.
Do you employ agency staff, or is care delivered by permanent, home‑trained teams?
Consistency is key to supporting our residents, as familiarity provides comfort, which is especially critical in dementia or neurological care. That is why our care is provided by permanent staff.
Are staff specially trained for care needs like dementia, MS, or acquired brain injury
For specialist conditions, such as dementia and brain injuries, specialist nursing care is crucial, especially at our Ullswater Cottage Care Centre, which caters to individuals with long-term neurological conditions.
Upper Mead and Derwent Lodge both specialise in dementia care. Our expert care team is trained in the best dementia care practices and provides 24-hour support.
Facilities, Atmosphere, and Location
Does the home feel welcoming and homely? Do residents appear happy and engaged?
Speaking to a care home manager over the phone is a great way to get a feel of a care home, but it’s important to remember that they want you to choose their care facilities, just like we do! Yet, we don’t just give you a sales pitch over the phone, we encourage all potential residents and caregivers to visit our care home.
Initial impressions and resident well‑being are key to making the right decisions.
Are rooms personalised? Can residents bring furniture or personal items?
So, a local care home has a room, but your loved one can only bring a selection of personal items listed on a patient inventory list. What should you do? Before you begin the process, we recommend that you query whether residents can personalise their rooms.
At Splendid, we want to help residents settle in naturally. We strongly encourage residents to bring their own furniture, photos, and cherished personal items. Familiar possessions can provide comfort and reassurance, especially during the early days of settling in. Our goal is to make every room feel like home, not just a place to stay, but a place to truly belong.
Activities, Social Life & Well‑Being
What social activities are organised? How often? Are they tailored to residents’ interests
Care home activities are important because they play a crucial role in supporting residents’ mental, physical, emotional, and social well-being. Our activities coordinator schedules regular and varying activities for our residents. View activity news on Upper Mead and Ullswater today!
Are outings common? Do residents get fresh air and exercise regularly?
Maintaining the well-being of our residents is at the centre of our care plans. We promote regular outings across the local West Sussex area, so that our residents can feel a sense of normality, community and for some, familiarity in old routines.
Costs, Fees, and Extras
What is included in the standard fee? What services incur additional costs?
Transparency on pricing is essential when selecting the right care home. It’s all well and good finding the perfect home, but if it’s out of your price range, if funding from the NHS or Local Authority isn’t available, or undiscussed fees arise, then you’ve wasted valuable time.
Care home costs depend on the level of support needed and the type of accommodation selected. At Splendid, we offer a range of tailored packages designed to suit individual needs, with everything clearly explained from the outset.
Our team is always on hand to provide a full breakdown of costs and answer any questions you may have about fees or funding.
Visiting, Family Involvement & Environment
What is the visiting policy: times, access, overnight stays?
Work schedules, child care and daily life can restrict your availability. That’s why it’s important to discuss visiting hours with care homes, to ensure that you can visit your loved ones at a time and date that suits you.
At our West Sussex care facilities, we offer flexible visiting hours to help families and friends stay closely connected. Regular contact plays a vital role in emotional well-being, and we understand how important that connection is. Visitors are always welcome, and we’re happy to work with you to establish a visiting routine that suits both your loved one and your family.”
Safety, Feedback, and Adaptability
What are the complaint and feedback processes?
Care home facilities are committed to providing the best care services through stringent processes. If the care and services provided to your family or close one isn’t up to the standard you expect, it’s important to know what complaint and feedback processes are in place.
At Splendid, we encourage open dialogue at our care homes as we are committed to continuously improving our care and services.
Arrange a Visit to One of Our West Sussex Care Homes
Whether you’re just starting your search or narrowing down your options, visiting a care home in person can make all the difference. Our team at Splendid Healthcare is here to support you every step of the way, offering honest advice, personalised care plans, and warm welcomes across all three of our West Sussex care homes.
Contact us today to arrange a visit, ask questions, or simply talk through your needs. We’re here to help you find not just the right care, but the right home.
