Care Home Website Report
Research into the accessibility of care home websites, carried out by Healthwatch County Durham's ‘Enter & View’ representatives.
The idea for this piece of research arose through a conversation held within a Care Quality Commission joint meeting, involving Healthwatch County Durham’s ‘Enter & View’ representatives. The principle aim of the research was:
- To consider how accessible online websites were when looking for care home providers. The basis of this (which is important to note) was to take a ‘lay persons' approach when considering how easy it was to access information
- For volunteers to put themselves in the shoes of a family member starting to look for a care home in County Durham
- To identify the factors and barriers that made it difficult or unclear in finding providers
- To establish both what type of information was needed and whether that was readily available
Recommendations for providers:
Websites should have:
- An indication of fee levels, or at least some sort of price banding
- Information that is accurate and up to date o what type of specialisms a provider might offer
- Whether the service was ‘age related’
- How open the service was to welcoming visitors
- What, if any, activity programmes were provided
- The general ethos of the provider (mission and values)
- Easily identifiable, unique care home names and addresses with directions and maps
It’s often a really difficult period in your life having to find somewhere new for a loved one to live. It would help a great deal if information was easy to access
Downloads
If you need this information in a different format please contact us:
healthwatchcountydurham@pcp.uk.net
0800 304 7039
Download Report
