Baxendale – a Residential Care Home in North London

Some people get confused between nursing homes and residential care homes. Here Baxendale, a 24-hour caring home in North London, explain some of the key differences.

The Medical Support

Residents at Baxendale and other residential care homes receive around the clock care, but it’s to help with daily tasks they find difficult rather than any specific medical condition. For example, they may need help with personal hygiene tasks such as washing, bathing and dressing.

Residents also don’t need constant medical treatment or supervision because they may just have mobility issues which aren’t particularly severe, or other milder conditions which are generally associated with getting older.

Nursing home residents, by contrast, may need to have medicine administered to them or wounds and injuries tended to regularly by a qualified professional. There are several types of nursing homes that specialise in looking after people with specific conditions such as dementia, other forms of mental illness, or cancer care, or they may need intravenous medication on a regular basis. So nursing homes have a qualified nurse or healthcare professional on-site around the clock.

It is worth noting though that some care homes are dual-registered, which means they offer both residential and nursing home care, which is ideal for those whose condition is likely to deteriorate as time goes on.

And although Baxendale is classed as a residential care home, all our residents still receive 24/7 care every day of the week. Our care staff work in three shifts throughout the day, ensuring a full 24 hours of coverage every day. We have more than 60 members of staff, and nearly half of those are in residential care roles.

Our residents have access to a full range of healthcare professionals and services including dentists, opticians and chiropodists. We also regularly arrange visits from local GPs and district nurses. And we also serve as a respite care facility for Barnet, North London and surrounding areas, for all those residents who have recently spent time in hospital or have recently undergone an operation.

The Cost

The cost or fees for residential care homes tend to be lower than for nursing homes because residents don’t need specialist medical support or equipment. However, if you do need to go into a nursing home, you may be able to apply for part of your fees to be paid by the NHS or your local authority.

The Different Activities

Both care homes and nursing homes lay on a programme of social activities for their residents. However residential care home activities are likely to be more varied and even involve day trips out rather than just remaining on-site.

For instance at Baxendale, on top of all our healthcare services, we offer a full programme of activities and services for our residents, including arts and crafts, cooking, games of bingo and singing around the piano. Seated chair exercises, visits from local school children and “live” music entertainment are all offered for activity sessions too. And, although all our meals are provided, our residents are able to prepare their own meals – cooking can be an activity with staff members.