Changing Care Homes: When and How to Move Your Parent

Topic cluster: Finding & Choosing a Care Home | Reading time: 6 min

Moving your parent from one care home to another is stressful for everyone — and yet sometimes it is the right decision. Whether the current home is failing to meet your parent's needs, care standards have fallen, or a better option has become available, this guide explains when a move is justified and how to manage it well.

Reasons Families Consider Changing Care Homes

The most common reasons for moving a parent to a different home include:

Decline in care quality — the home's CQC rating has deteriorated, or you have direct concerns about standards
Changing care needs — your parent now needs nursing care but is in a residential home, or requires specialist dementia support
Location change — the family has moved, or a care home closer to family has become available
Persistent complaints not resolved — management has failed to address your concerns
Financial changes — a less expensive option is needed, or a preferred home has become affordable
Cultural or personal fit — the home is not right for your parent's cultural, religious, or personal preferences
Home closure — the home is closing and all residents must relocate

Before You Decide to Move

Moving is disruptive, particularly for older people and those with dementia. It should be a considered decision, not a reaction to a single frustrating incident.

Before committing to a move:

✅ Have you raised your concerns formally with the care home?
✅ Has the home been given a reasonable opportunity to address the issues?
✅ Have you spoken to your parent's GP and care manager?
✅ Is the alternative home genuinely better, or simply different?
✅ Has your parent (if they have capacity) been involved in the decision?

If you have concluded that a move is necessary, proceed with confidence — your parent's wellbeing comes first.

How to Find a New Care Home

Use the same process as your original search:

Determine what type of care is now needed (this may have changed)
Check CQC ratings for potential homes in your preferred area
Visit in person before making a decision
Confirm the home has availability and can meet your parent's current needs
Review the contract carefully before signing

If your parent is council-funded, notify the local authority that you wish to change homes. They must still arrange a suitable alternative within the personal budget, and you retain the right to choose.

Giving Notice to the Current Home

Check your parent's existing contract for the notice period required. Most care home contracts require 28 days' notice. Some require four to eight weeks.

You may need to continue paying fees during the notice period even if your parent has moved out — check the contract carefully.

If the home is closing, they should give you formal notice and should support you in finding alternative care. The local authority also has a duty to assist in these circumstances.

Managing the Move: Practical Steps

Before the move:

Arrange an assessment at the new home (they will want to review care needs before admission)
Provide the new home with your parent's full medical history, medication list, and existing care plan
Coordinate with the GP to ensure medical records and prescription management are transferred
Notify the local authority (if council-funded) and request that funding transfers to the new home
Notify the NHS (for NHS Continuing Healthcare or NHS-Funded Nursing Care)
Inform your parent's dentist, optician, and other regular practitioners

On moving day:

Be present if possible — your parent will feel more settled with family there
Bring familiar, meaningful objects to personalise the new room from day one
Stay for a meal if allowed — sharing a first meal together in the new home helps establish it as a place where family comes

After the move:

Visit frequently in the first few weeks
Introduce yourself to the key worker and care manager
Monitor for signs of distress (particularly important for people with dementia, for whom change is especially challenging)
Attend the first care plan review

Moving Someone with Dementia

Changing care homes is harder for people with dementia. The unfamiliar environment can cause significant disorientation and distress, at least temporarily.

Strategies to ease the transition:

Involve the new home's dementia team in planning the move
Move familiar objects first, so the new room already feels personal
Visit the new home with your parent before the move (if possible) to introduce familiar faces and surroundings
Maintain daily routines as closely as possible in the new home
Expect a settling-in period of several weeks — some regression in behaviour or mood is normal

Your Parent's Rights

If your parent has mental capacity, they have the right to choose — or refuse — a move. A move cannot be arranged against their wishes unless it is judged necessary to protect their safety and wellbeing (in which case the Mental Capacity Act and adult safeguarding processes apply).

If your parent lacks capacity, decisions about their care home must be made in their best interests, involving all relevant people — GP, social worker, family members — and recorded clearly.

Search care homes by CQC rating, care type, and location at homeformum.com