Sometimes living at home is no longer practical, and going to live in a residential home or a nursing home may be the best way forward. This is a big step and should not be rushed into. Whether the home you go to live in is run by the City Council's Adult Services, Housing and Health department or by a voluntary or private organisation, you will need to think very carefully about everything involved, including the costs.

Residential (or ‘rest’) homes are different from nursing homes. Both provide 24 hour a day care, with staff always on the premises, but nursing homes are meant only for people who need regular and frequent oversight from a qualified nurse, which would not be possible in a residential home. Both kinds of homes are registered and regularly inspected by the Commission for Social Care Inspection.

If you need financial assistance from Adult Services to pay for your care in either sort of home, you must get in touch with the Assessment and Care Management Team before any arrangements are entered into. Adult Services, Housing and Health will only assist if it assesses that living in your own home is no longer possible. Even if you have enough money to pay your own way (at least for the foreseeable future) it still makes sense to speak to Adult Services staff, so that your decision is as well-informed as possible.

Where Adult Services is helping with the costs of your care, you are entitled by law to a reasonable choice of where you go to live, provided Adult Services agrees that the home you choose will meet your needs and that the costs are at a level that the department will meet. Usually you will have the chance to visit two or three homes. You can choose a home charging more than Adult Services will pay as long as someone else (a ‘third party') is willing and able to make up the difference.

You can choose a suitable home anywhere in Nottinghamshire, or elsewhere in the United Kingdom, if the home of your choice is able to accommodate you. Many people choose a home near to where their closest family are living.

Residential and nursing homes can offer short-term or respite care, as well as a long-term home. This may provide a helpful break, especially to carers, and can be organised for a few days or a few weeks, and on a regular or one-off basis.

For further information about paying for residential and nursing home care, please download our leaflet (119KB) or ring 0115 915 5500.